German Divorce Rates Reach New High

Nearly 214,000 couples got divorces in Germany last year, 4.8 percent more than in 2002 and the highest number ever on record, the German Federal Statistics Office reported Friday. Parents' break-ups also affected 6.3 percent more children under 18 than last year -- 170,260 in total. More than every third married couple is doomed to divorce, the statisticians found. While divorce numbers keep rising, fewer and fewer marriages have been taking place. Still, of the roughly 19 million married couples in Germany, 191,500 of them tied the knot in 2003.