Beijing, June 2 (IANS) Over 5,000 couples divorce each day in China, according to latest statistics from the ministry of civil affairs.

Civil affairs departments have dealt with more than 465,000 cases of divorce in the first quarter of this year. This makes up to an average of over 5,000 cases per day, Xinhua reported.

The number of divorces has increased 17 percent compared to the same period last year.

‘Marriage in China has entered a phase of uncertainty,’ Chen Yijun, an expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told People’s Daily.

Less communication between husbands and wives and increasing extramarital affairs are the biggest killers of marriage, he said.

Men and women in China are also becoming increasingly independent in terms of personality and finance, he added.