Divorce Statistics  

Divorce Statistcs in the United States

• In 1998 2.2 million couples married and 1.1 million couples divorced.
• In 2000 58 million couples were married, yet separated.
• In 2000 there were over 21 million divorces.Divorce Statistcs United States
• People between the ages of 25 to 39 make up 60% of all divorces.
• Over one million children are affected by divorce each year.
• Approximately 1/3 of divorced parents remain bitter and hostile several years after the divorce.DiDivorce Statistcs United States vorce Statistcs United States
• In 1990 the average female age for re-marriage after divorce was 30.6 years; for males, 33.7 years of age.Divorce Statistcs United States
• In 1990 the average female age for a second divorce was 37.3 years; for males, 40.4 years of age.Divorce Statistcs United States
• More people are part of second marriages today than first marriages.
• One-quarter of all Americans have experienced at least one divorce.

Divorce statistics are generally calculated by comparing the number of divorces with the number of marriages in a given time period.

• In the United States in 1999 there were 8.4 marriages and 4.2 divorces per 1,000 total population. Divorce Statistcs United States
• Thus it can be seen that in 1999 there was one divorce for every two marriages in the United States, a "crude" divorce rate of 50%. The Rutgers National Marriage Project (marriage.rutgers.edu) bases their review of divorce trends on the number of marriages per 1000 unmarried women 15 years of age or older, and the number of divorces per 1000 married women in the same age bracket. Divorce Statistcs United States
• This look at divorce in relation to the population of marriageable age rather than the population as a whole produces a slightly lower divorce rate.Divorce Statistcs United States
• However they note, "Overall, the chances remain very high?close to 50 percent?that a marriage started today will end in either divorce or permanent separation."Divorce Statistcs United States

Divorce statistics no longer collected in America.

In 1970, 68 percent of adults lived as married couples. That percentage declined steadily to 56 percent today. Additionally, more than 1 million divorces have occurred annually since the late 1970s, and cohabitation accounted for more than four million couples in 1997 (Washington Times, 6/6/99). The epidemics of divorce, cohabitation and unwed childbearing must be addressed forthrightly.Divorce Statistcs United States

However, combating these societal ailments with strong research will prove to be an immense challenge in the near future. Why? The U.S. government is no longer collecting comprehensive, detailed statistics on marriage and divorce.

Divorce statistics data no collected.Divorce Statistcs United States

The federal government has stopped collecting (Washington Times, 6/6/99):

• marriage and divorce ratesDivorce Statistcs United States
• trends in the age at marriage or divorceDivorce Statistcs United States
• number of previous marriages Divorce Statistcs United States
• number of children a couple had before divorce Divorce Statistcs United States
• duration of marriage Divorce Statistcs United States
• trends by race or education Divorce Statistcs United States

• Since the introduction of "no-fault divorce" in Canada 30 years ago, the rate of marital break-up has soared 600%. Divorce Statistics Canada
• A third of marriages fail, and over a third of those break-ups involve children. Divorce Statistics Canada
• One-fifth of Canadian children have lost a parent to divorce, with an effect that some sociologists now say can be "worse than a parent's death." Divorce Statistics Canada
• Divorce is consistently associated with juvenile emotional disorders, crime, suicide, promiscuity and later marital break-up. Divorce Statistics Canada

Divorce Statistics in England

• In 2002, the number of divorces granted in the UK increased by 1.9 per cent, from 157,000 in 2001 to 160,000. This is the highest number of divorces since 1997, but still 11 per cent less than the peak of 180,000 in 1993.Divorce Statistics in England
  
  
• In 1961 there were 27,000 divorces in Great Britain which had doubled by 1969 to 56,000. It then doubled again by 1972, to 125,000 in both Great Britain and the United Kingdom. This latter increase was partly a 'one-off' effect of the Divorce Reform Act 1969 in England and Wales, which came into effect in 1971.Divorce Statistics in England
  
  
• In England and Wales, 70 per cent of divorces in 2002 were to couples where both parties were in their first marriage. The corresponding proportion was 80 per cent in 1982. This downward trend largely reflects the fall in the number of first marriages. Divorce Statistics in England
  
  
• Over the last 10 years the average age at divorce in England and Wales has risen from 39 to 42 years for men and from 36 to 39 years for women, partly reflecting the rise in age at marriage.Divorce Statistics in England
  
  
• In 2002 the most frequent fact on which divorce was granted to a woman in England and Wales was the unreasonable behaviour of her husband, while for a man, it was separation for two years with consent.
  
  
• Demographic factors associated with an increased risk of subsequent divorce include marrying at a younger than average age, having a pre-marital birth, and having previously been divorced. Divorce Statistics in England

Divorce Statistics in Australia

• There were 55,300 divorces granted in Australia in 2001, the highest number granted in the last 20 years. This was an increase of 5,400 on the number of divorces granted in 2000 and an increase of 13,900 on 1981.Divorce Statistics in Australia
• However, since 1981 divorce rates, while fluctuating, have shown an increasing trend. In 1987 the divorce rate was at a low of 11 divorces per 1,000 married population. Since 1987, divorce rates, while still fluctuating, have shown an upward trend to a high of 13 in 1996. The divorce rate in 2000 was 12.Divorce Statistics in Australia
• The crude divorce rate in Australia was 2.8 per 1,000 population in 2001. It was lower than the United States of America (4.2 per 1,000 in 1998) and the United Kingdom (2.9 in 1996) and higher than New Zealand (2.7 in 1998) and Canada (2.3 in 1997). Divorce Statistics in Australia
• The likelihood of a marriage ending in divorce is increasing. If the 1997-1999 rates for marriage, widowing, divorce, remarriage and mortality were applied to a newly-born group of babies 32% of their marriages would end in divorce. This is an increase on the proportion expected if 1985-1987 rates were applied (28%). Divorce Statistics in Australia
• In line with the increasing age at marriage the median age at divorce also rose. In 2001 the median age at divorce for men was 42 years (up from 36 years in 1981) and 39 years for women (up from 33 years in 1981).Divorce Statistics in Australia
• In 2001, 17% of couples had divorced within the first five years of marriage, while a further 26% had divorced in the following five-year period. The most common single interval between marriage and divorce was between five and six years (6%). In 2001 the median duration of marriage to divorce was 12 years, up from 10 years in 1981.Divorce Statistics in Australia
• For most of the 20th century there was a slow but steady rise in the divorce rate, increasing from annual averages of 0.1 divorces per 1,000 population between 1901 and 1910 to 0.8 per 1,000 between 1961 and 1970.Divorce Statistics in Australia
• However, the most important factor involved in the higher divorce rates in the latter quarter of the century was the introduction of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cwlth) which came into operation on 5 January 1976. This legislation allows only one ground for divorce: irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, measured as the separation of the spouses for at least one year. Divorce Statistics in Australia
• Following the implementation of this law, there was a large increase in the divorce rate in 1976.
• The rate then declined until 1979 as the backlog of applications was cleared.Divorce Statistics in Australia
• Since then the crude divorce rate has fluctuated between 2.4 and 2.9 divorces per 1,000 population . Divorce Statistics in Australia
• The crude divorce rate in 2001 was 2.8 per 1,000 population.Divorce Statistics in Australia
• The pattern of divorces per 1,000 married couples is very similar; in 2000 there were 12.0 divorces per 1,000 married men or women.Divorce Statistics in Australia

The sharp rise in the number of divorces in the early 1980s mainly reflects the legislative changes introduced in 1981. The Family Proceedings Act 1980, passed in 1981, meant that an application for marriage dissolution could be made by either the husband or wife on the grounds that the marriage had broken down irreconcilably, provided a two-year separation requirement was satisfied.Divorce Statistics in New Zealand

• Many couples who could satisfy the two-year separation requirement for the single ground of irreconcilable marriage breakdown sought the simpler Family Court dissolution. Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• Consequently, divorces recorded a temporary high of 12,395 in 1982. Subsequently, both the number and rate of marriage dissolutions dropped, but the trend has been upward again since the late 1980s.Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• In 2001, the Family Courts granted 9,683 marriage dissolution orders . 16 or 0.2 percent fewer than the number granted in 2000 (9,699). Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• Data for the last seven years suggest the number of divorces have plateaued, with an average of around 9,800 divorces per year during 1995. 2001. Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• The divorce rate (number of divorces per 1,000 estimated existing marriages), which rose sharply in the mid-1990s, also appears to be experiencing a respite from its upward trend. Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• In 2001 the divorce rate stood at 12.2 per 1,000 existing marriages . the same as in 2000. During the late 1980s the rate averaged 11.8 per 1,000. It fluctuated around 12.0 during the early 1990s and around 12.5 per 1,000 during the late 1990s.Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• A significant proportion of marriages in New Zealand last for a relatively short time (Figure 3.03).Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• Divorces are most common among couples who had been married for between five and nine years. They accounted for one-quarter of all divorces in 2001.Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• Almost two out of every five marriages dissolved in 2001 had lasted for less than 10 years. Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• Annual divorce statistics, however, tend to exaggerate the incidence of marriage break-up. Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• Analysis of divorce statistics by year of marriage shows that 70 percent of couples who married in 1975 were still together in 2001. For those married in 1967 and 1971, the corresponding figures were 74 and 71 percent respectively.Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• For about two-thirds of couples, death, not divorce, will end their marriage.Divorce Statistics in New Zealand

Divorces Statistics By Duration of Marriage in New Zealand

Divorce statistics : Age at divorce in New Zealand

The rise in age at divorce is continuing. This partly reflects the increased duration of marriage, and partly the marked trend towards later marriages, which started in the early 1970s. Divorce Statistics in New Zealand

• The median age at divorce in 2001 was 41.9 years for men and 39.3 years for women.Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• Divorcees were, on average, three years older than those whose marriages dissolved a decade ago, in 1991. Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• The median ages then were 39.0 years for males and 36.2 years for females.Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• For women, divorce continues to be most common among those aged 25. 29 years, with 22.0 divorces per 1,000 existing marriages, compared to 20.5 per 1,000 for those aged 30. 34, and 19.6 for the 20. 24 year-olds. Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• Among men, the most common age for divorce is 30. 34 years, although in 2001, men aged 25. 29 years had the same level of divorce as those aged 30. 34 years at 20.9 divorces per 1,000 existing marriages.
• Men aged 35. 39 years had the next highest divorce rate of 19.3 per 1,000.Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• Half the marriages dissolved in 2001 had lasted about 13 years compared with the median duration of 12 years for marriages that ended in divorce in 1991. Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• The upturn in the median duration of marriage may be partly attributed to the rising age at marriage and the breakdown of more long-term marriages, particularly those of more than 25 years.Divorce Statistics in New Zealand
• In 2001, 17.2 percent of all divorces were to people who had been married for 25 years or more, compared with 12.5 percent a decade earlier.

(from Statistics New Zealand)