State of World Population 2012 - UNFPA Haiti

Consensual unions account for an increasingproportion of live-in partnerships, whichtend to be less stable than formal marriages. InLatin America and the Caribbean, more thanone in four women between the ages 20 and34 live in a consensual union (United Nations,Department of Economic and Social Affairs,2009). This arrangement is less common insub-Saharan Africa and Asia where about 10 percent and 2 per cent of women live in consensualunions, respectively. The percentage of womenin consensual unions ranges from nearly zeroto 30 in 16 developed countries. In a majorityof countries with available data, the percentageof women in consensual unions peaks betweenages 25-29 (United Nations, Department ofEconomic and Social Affairs, 2009).Globally, the proportion of adults who aredivorced or separated doubled (from 2 per centto 4 per cent) between 1970 and 2000. Divorceand separation are more common in developedcountries than in developing countries.According to the World Marriage Data for 2008,11 per cent of women were divorced or separatedin developed countries whereas only 2 per cent ofwomen of the same age were divorced or separatedfrom their husbands in developing countries(United Nations, Department of Economic andWe’re here! Per cent distribution of young people, as per cent ofworld population by region45%11%0-14 15-24 25-59 Over 6017%27%RegionsAfricaWorldLatin Americaand the CaribbeanAsiaOceaniaNorth AmericaEurope0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2011).52 CHAPTER 3: CHALLENGES IN EXTENDING ACCESS TO EVERYONE