The Analysis Of Divorce Rate In Urban And Rural Areas

 Many people have similar goals; find a job that pays well and possibly that they enjoy, get married and generally wish to live a happy and healthy life. Many people may assume that living in an urban center compared to a rural area will have an adverse effect on their lives in regards to health, aging and general way of life. If this is the case, then would the same difference affect other areas of our lives. Does the geographical area in which you ordinarily inhabit have an adverse effect on the outcome of your marriage. Simply, is there a difference in urban vs rural divorce rates, and if so why? As someone who shared these above goals with many of my peers, it is interesting to see if anything can be done to shift the odds into your favor. If indeed there is a difference than should it affect what we do in life or should we take our chances.

To answer the above question we must review statistical information regarding actual divorce rates in urban and rural areas. If statistically a successful marriage is considered one that lasts “until death do us part” then an unsuccessful marriage must be a divorce. Unfortunately, data is not able to take into account people in toxic relationships or those who will not divorce based on cultural, religious, or other reasons. Therefore the answer to the question is there a difference in urban vs rural divorce rates, is not as simple as a yes or no. However, at present, all we can do is look at the data. In theory, it would be nice to be able to move to one area or another in order to decrease the chances of an unsuccessful marriage, if simply moving will make a difference is hard to believe. When reviewing the registry in Denmark (Denmark, 2005) Between the years 2000 and 2004, 2 out of 100 existing marriages in Copenhagen (the most urban area of Denmark) resulted in divorce while, 1 out of 100 existing marriages resulted in divorce each year in the rural areas of Denmark. This information at face value means that the divorce rate in urban areas is double that of rural areas. This information suggests that there may be a causal relationship between living in cities and divorce rates.

Theoretically, it could also just be that people with good marriages prefer to live a more secluded rural life. However, it could be explained by the rational of cities being large marriage markets. Essentially, because there are more people living within the city both in volume and in proximity to each other, the rate in which people are able to meet potential partners should be higher than in rural areas. Therefore, single people, especially attractive ones, should move into the city so as to capitalize on the market ( Gautier, Svarer & Teuling, 2005). This sounds like a good thing, the demand should be able to be met by supply in a city as people have so many options. It sounds like an argument that could be used as a pro for urban marriage until you think about the equilibrium.