Number of incomplete households rapidly growing

Prague, Feb 8 (CTK) - There are 580,000 incomplete households in the Czech Republic as against 250,000 in 1961 and the number is growing every year, Deputy Labour and Social Affairs Minister Marian Hosek (Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL) told journalists Monday.

Hosek was speaking during the National Week of Marriage, an Initiative for the Support to Marriage in the Czech Republic.

Jan Frolik, spokesman for the campaign, said functional marriages faced similar problems as dysfunctional marriages.

The difference between successful and failed couples lies in the way conflicts are resolved, Frolik said, adding that the problem was that most people entered marriage without any instructions.

Sociological surveys have revealed that men and women consider marriage and family a supreme value, ahead of education, money and religion.

However, changes in life-style in the past decades have caused partners not to have time for themselves or children's upbringing, Frolik said.

Young people postpone marriage. There is a growing number of lone people, though a separation evidently devastates health. It shortens life as divorced people are more susceptible to heart and vascular diseases, he added.

Besides, marriage economically benefits both the couple and society, organisers said.

It is more expensive to live alone than together and married people save more money than the rest, studies say.

Children of married couples have better results at school and they are likelier to earn more money and pay higher taxes to the state.

The solution to the situation of the children who do not live in a harmonious environment causes increased costs to the state, studies have found.

Nevertheless, marriage is often not considered socially prestigious.