There are now 1.4 million women and 600,000 men who are unmarried in the country, according to statistics issued by the Ministry of Economy and Planning recently.
At a workshop held by the scientific endowment body at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), participants argued that there are several reasons for Saudis delaying their nuptials.
The high cost of weddings was the top reason, followed by issues over social class raised by parents, and men and women having unrealistic expectations of prospective partners. Fear of failure was also one of the major reasons.
Essam Kawthar, chief executive officer of the KAU endowment body, said that the workshop was held to find solutions to this phenomenon, which was a “worry for the entire Saudi society.”
Kawther said there are 45 fears about marriage, but participants only identified a few reasons that prevented people from tying the knot.
The fears include loss of career opportunities after marriage, partners concealing some physical and psychological problems, domestic violence and jealousy over a partner’s progress in life, he said.
2m unmarried men, women; costly weddings key factor
2m unmarried men, women; costly weddings key factor
