Divorce Statistics 2007

Divorce rates in England and Wales fell by 8% in 2005 - the lowest for five years, the Office for National Statistics said today.
  • There were 141,750 divorces last year compared with 153,399 in 2004. The last time the figure was so low was in 2000.
  • Marriages which ended in divorce were lasting - on average - slightly longer at 11.6 years in 2005, compared to 11.5 years in 2004.
  • As a result, the average age of new divorcees also rose last year to 43.1 years for men and 40.6 years for women, compared to 42.7 and 40.2 years in 2004.
  • The majority of divorces were granted to the wife (69%) and in 53% of these cases, the husband's behaviour was the reason given.
  • For men awarded the divorce, the most common reason (32%) was two years' separation with consent.
  • Children were involved in more than half of all divorces in 2005, with 53% of cases including at least one child under 16 - the same as the year before.
  • Last year, there were 136,332 children aged under 16 whose parents went through a divorce. Nearly two-thirds (63%) were under 11.
  • One in five of all men and women getting a divorce in 2005 had already been through a divorce. The ONS said this figure had nearly doubled since 1981.
  • Couples in England and Wales were divided into nine age groups, starting with below 20 and ending with above 60.
  • Those aged between 25 and 29 had the highest divorce rate with 27.1 per 1,000 married men and 28 divorces per 1,000 married women.
  • Aside from the late 20s, levels of divorce fell notably for all those under 40 - for men it was the lowest since 1988, with 24.9 per 1,000 married men aged 16 to 39.
  • For all women under 40, 24.7 per 1,000 aged 16 to 39 got divorced - the lowest since 1990.
  • For all those aged over 40, the level dropped for the first time in seven years in 2005.
  • Figures stood at 9.7 divorces per 1,000 married men, compared to 10.1 in 2004 and 8.7 per 1,000 for married women in 2005, compared to 8.9 in 2004.
  • Rates of divorce fell in every age group apart from women aged 60 and over, where it rose by 2%. v Divorce for the 60 and above age group has been on the increase since 1998 for men and women, apart from men in 2005 where the rate dropped by 1%.
  • Across the whole of the UK, divorce fell by 7% to 155,052 compared with 167,138 in 2004.
  • In Northern Ireland, the figure fell by 6% to 2,362 and in Scotland the drop was 3% to 10,940.

Source: http://www.statistics.gov.uk



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Information on this page is current and last updated: 12/03/2008



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