Thursday, February 16, 2017

Trends in the data: Changing attitudes towards divorce in Georgia

CRRC’s Caucasus Barometer data show that assessments of whether divorce can or cannot be justified are changing in Georgia. This blog post looks at this trend, and at how these assessments differ by gender, age, and settlement type.

The share of those who report that divorce can be justified has increased since 2011, while the share of those who think divorce cannot be justified decreased, as did the share of those who answered “Don’t know”. Notably, both men and women report similar assessments (2011, 2013, 2015).


Note: The original 10-point scale was re-coded into a 3-point scale, with original codes 1 through 4 labeled “Cannot be justified”, codes 5 and 6 labeled “Neutral”, and codes 7 through 10 labeled “Can be justified” on the chart above.

Unsurprisingly, residents of Tbilisi report more frequently that divorce can be justified, compared to people living outside the capital. Outside Tbilisi, the most frequent responses are that divorce cannot be justified. In Tbilisi “neutral” assessments became most frequent in 2015.

Although people who are 56 and older report most often that divorce cannot be justified, such assessments have gradually become less common even for people in this age group, decreasing by nine percentage points since 2011. The sharpest decrease is among those who are between 36 and 55 years old.


Overall, the opinion that divorce cannot be justified remains prevalent in Georgia. Nonetheless, the share of those who report that divorce can be justified is growing, and the share of those who report it cannot be justified is declining. This is true for residents of different settlement types, both males and females, and across age groups, although the attitudes of older people and those living in rural settlements are changing less.

To have a closer look at the Caucasus Barometer data, visit CRRC’s Online Data Analysis tool.

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