COVID – 19: Is celibacy up or down?

During confinement, a large part of couples no longer support each other, due to stressors but also to certain “hidden” lifestyles or because of libertinism, even adventures outside the couple, gardens outside the married life… etc.

All these moments led to a destruction between family or couple life, due to lifestyle changes but also to the cancellation of certain meetings outside the family or the couple, between lovers, which led to the separation or divorce, depending on the status of each couple.

In the Arab world, we see that today, more and more often, we find among the population of these countries young people from 18 to 40 years, whether a man or a woman. , single, regardless of their sexual status vis-à-vis a person (straight or part of the LGBT community), a significant increase among single people.

Global statistics are not available for all countries, but marriage numbers are falling everywhere and the divorce rate is exploding.

According to a study, the number of divorces has jumped 24% in recent years, and the courts have registered in the last year, 18,000 divorces for 50,000 marriage contracts in 2019. As for young people, they are more than 2.5 million in the kingdom. The reason for this celibacy?

As we see today, religion or traditional customs no longer matter, given the plan of poverty but also the lack of love; all that is visible are fun or adventure plans for one night or even during the holidays; but at the moment we cannot talk about vacations, given the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.

We will therefore take into account some examples of departures from the Muslim world, where the divorce rate was extremely alarming before the Covid-19 pandemic; but also where religion or the Koran are no longer taken into account, the population becomes much more secular.

In Saudi Arabia, the divorce rate is exploding, and paradoxically it is in the region of Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities in the world, that the phenomenon is most notable.

Between 2011 and 2012, sociologists from Arab countries conducted a survey to determine exactly why a young person remains single, the vast majority of whom are single women.

According to a study by Ibrahim Al-Juweir, a sociology professor at the University of Riyadh, the vast majority of young people prefer to continue their education rather than get married. And sociologist Dina Al-Jawda demonstrates an obvious link between women’s work and the late age of marriage. Ibrahim Eid, a former professor of psychology at the University of Ain Al-Chams in Cairo, explains that celibacy is a scourge that strikes all Arab countries, to varying degrees. In Egypt, 6 million men and 4 million women over the age of 40 are unmarried. In Algeria, there are more than 4 million women and 3 million single men. In Jordan and Syria too, the numbers are high, 8 million men and 9 million women. And even more so in Iraq, where the harsh living conditions make relations more and more difficult. In the Gulf countries, such as Kuwait, Bahrain and the Emirates, the cost of dowry is the main obstacle. As in Palestine, Sudan and Somalia… In short, almost all the Arab countries are concerned. In Egypt, according to Professor Eid, it is unemployment and the difficulties of young people in accessing housing that delay the age of marriage.

There are an estimated 100 million single people worldwide. And this trend should continue to grow. At least, that’s what the statistics suggest since the 1960s.

The Quebec Institute for Statistics noted that over the past 30 years, Quebecers living in a couple had dropped significantly, especially among young people. The percentage of men in couples had increased from 63% in 1981 to 44% in 2011. For women, they were 71% in 1981 and 59% in 2011.

Among 40 to 44 year olds, the percentage for men increased from 82% to 69% and from 77% to 70% for women.

On a smaller scale, it should be noted that the City of Montreal is the champion of celibacy with 36.5% of singles, while the national average is 28%.

In Asia, the number of singles has risen since March from 1.5 million to 2.2 million due to divorces that occurred after confinement.

France has almost 68 million inhabitants. And among them, recent studies have shown that more than a third of French adults are single! In numbers, that represents almost 18 million lonely souls in the country.

It is estimated that almost 40% of singles are women and 60% of singles are men.

Among male singles, some are due to divorce, others because of the living environment that does not allow them to meet a woman easily, or because they are part of the LGBT.
– Singles aged 18-30 are close to 30% (more than one in four young people);
– Singles aged 30-50 tend to be in the largest cities in France (around 50% of singles);
– You should know that 21% of French singles are in Ile de France.

According to the last INSEE census, there are more men than women, in 2015, 36.7% of women and 43.6% of men lived alone (at least for the state- civil). A growing figure that has increased by three points for both categories since 2006.

According to INSEE, in 2004, there were 35% of single people on French territory, or nearly 18 million single people over 18, including 4 million in Ile-de-France. An estimate distributed equally between men and women. Among these people: 2.5 million widowers, 1.8 million single-parent families, 1.1 million divorced people and others corresponding to the generally accepted idea of ​​the single person. However, it is very difficult to actually quantify the number of singles. Because celibacy « here goes and it comes back » The number of single people in France given by INSEE only takes into account unmarried people. The cohabitees, the Pacsés, that is to say all the couples who did not go before the mayor, represent single people! INSEE also compiles statistics on households made up of one person: 7 million people live alone in their accommodation. . But that does not give the exact number of singles because only single women with children, single people living with their families, homeless people, roommates, etc. are not taken into account.

Top 10 countries with the most singles.
1. Sweden
If you’re not afraid of the cold, this is the place to go. 47% of singles.
2. France
35% of single people on French territory, or nearly 18 million single people.
3. Great Britain
34% of single people in Great Britain.
4. Japan
In Japan, there are lots of singles. 31% of the population.
5. Italy
Italians have a reputation as seducers, but it must be believed that this is not valid for everyone because, in fact, there are 29% of singles. A country where the number of divorces has increased by more than 70% in twenty years.
6. The United States
28% of Americans are alone. In New York and San Francisco, 40% of households are in fact made up of one person.
7. Canada
With 28% of singles, Canada plays it a bit like the USA. And in addition, this figure is only increasing.
8. Russia
In Russia, there are 25% of singles.
9. South Africa
It’s not next door, but with 24% of singles,
10. Kenya
With 18% of single people, Kenya faces a rather worrying situation considering that this figure tends to increase.

This year, we may see an increase in the number of singles regardless of country or religion due to the critical moments experienced during the confinement period, where each family experienced times of stress, battered spouses, abused children, rape experienced in the family or conflicts between couples due to the fact that they have been locked up in the house for too long… etc.

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