ABU DHABI // More than 7,000 marriages between Emirati couples took place last year, almost half the total number of all marriages - 16,441 - registered in the country.
Conversely, 4,233 couples divorced over the same period.
Of the 7,411 Emirati weddings, 2,981 were registered in Abu Dhabi, putting it ahead of the rest of the country.
Out of 898 weddings between Emirati women and non-Emirati men, 521, or 58 per cent, took place in the capital.
Abu Dhabi also led in the number of marriages between Emirati men and non-locals, with 935 out of 2,109 marriages.
Just over 6,000 expatriate couples were married last year, with 48 per cent (2,886) of the weddings taking place in Dubai.
The report, issued on Tuesday by the National Statistics Centre, detailed the number of marriages and divorces that took place in 2013.
The vast majority of divorces (1,749) took place between Emirati couples, followed closely behind by expatriate couples, with 1,628 divorcing. Among couples made up of Emirati women and non-local men, there were 162 divorces.
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