Spanish divorce rate worst in Europe

The number of Spanish marriages that end in divorce has risen so dramatically that the country now has the worst divorce rate in Europe.

According to a new study by the Family Policy Institute (IPF), three in every four marriages now end in divorce, which equates to one couple divorcing every four minutes, Reuters news agency reports.

Figures from the report show that the number of divorces in 2006 rose to 142,000, a 50 per cent increase on the figure of the previous year. Moreover, this figure, based on Spanish legal records, is quadruple that of 2001.

In 2005, the Spanish government passed a law dubbed the "express divorce" rule, which was approved by all of the country's political parties except the Partido Populars, a right-wing party that is strongly linked to the Catholic Church.

The law granted quicker divorces for married couples and made it easier for former spouses to win shared custody of children.