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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