The Judicial Council of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq KRI reported that technology—specifically internet use and mobile phones—comes second only to marital incompatibility as a cause of divorce. Most of these cases involve young couples between the ages of 18 and 22.
On Sunday, February 22, the Council published its 2025 statistics on marriage and divorce. The data revealed that 61,328 marriage contracts were officially registered in courts across the KRI during the year. In comparison, 15,826 divorces were recorded, meaning that divorces accounted for approximately 25 percent of all marriages.
Sulaimaniyah Province reported the highest number of marriages, totaling 25,687, followed by Erbil with 19,620. However, Erbil recorded the largest number of divorces at 7,113 cases, while Sulaimaniyah documented 5,369. Duhok registered 2,354 divorces, and Kalar reported 990.
In Erbil, most divorced women were under the age of 18, reaching 2,109 cases. Among men, the highest divorce rate occurred in the 18–22 age group, with 1,792 cases recorded.
The Judicial Council identified marital incompatibility as the leading cause of divorce in Erbil, responsible for 1,232 cases. Technology-related issues followed closely behind, accounting for 1,066 cases, while infidelity, along with financial and living difficulties, ranked next.
Although age-specific figures were not clearly detailed for Sulaimaniyah, Duhok showed a similar trend, with incompatibility as the primary reason for divorce, followed by other contributing factors.
In terms of marriage trends, Erbil recorded the highest number of marriages among women aged 18–22, totaling 5,805 cases. For men, the largest group was aged 22–26, with 5,779 marriages.
Additionally, the statistics showed that 107 second marriages were officially registered, and 344 divorces were attributed to drug use.
