Catholic Brazil Up in Divorce

SAO PAULO -- The number of Brazilians getting divorces is at a record high.

That's according to the South American nation's IBGE statistics agency.

The agency says Monday that more than 350,000 divorces occurred in 2011. That's up 46 percent from just the year before.

The reason is because Congress enacted a law that makes it quicker and easier to get a divorce in the most populous Catholic nation on earth.

Before, Brazilians had to be separated with a judge's approval for a year before they could seek a divorce. Now, there is no need for unhappy couples to wait.

The statistics agency says that prompted the record high in divorces, which have been tracked in Brazil since 1984.