Spotlight
Divorces in England and Wales: 2018
What's in the bulletin?
- There were 90,871 divorces of opposite-sex couples in 2018, a decrease of 10.6% compared with 2017 and the lowest number since 1971.
- Recent Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics highlight an administrative reason behind the scale of this decrease: divorce centres processed a backlog of work in 2018 resulting in 8% more divorce petitions; we expect this to translate into a higher number of completed divorces in 2019.
- The divorce rate among opposite-sex couples fell to 7.5 divorces per 1,000 married men and women from 8.4 in 2017, the lowest rate since 1971; this will also have been affected by the backlog of work in divorce centres in 2018.
Datasets related to Divorce
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Divorces in England and Wales
Annual divorce numbers and rates, by petitioner and decree granted, sex, age, previous marital status and percentage of marriages ending in divorce by year of marriage.
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Divorces in England and Wales, children of divorced couples: historical data
Number and age of children in families where the parents divorce.
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Divorces in England and Wales by age, marital status before marriage and reason: historical data
Number of couples divorcing, divorce numbers and rates by age of husband and wife, and marital status before marriage.
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Divorces in England and Wales by age at and duration of marriage and cohort analyses: historical data
Ages of husband and wife at marriage, and analyses of the percentage of marriages ending in divorce by year of marriage and anniversary, and proportions of men and women who had ever divorced by year of birth and age.
Publications related to Divorce
Statistical bulletins
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Divorces in England and Wales: 2019
Annual divorce numbers and rates, by duration of marriage, sex, age, previous marital status, and to whom granted and reason.
Articles
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How Have Living Arrangements and Marital Status in England and Wales Changed Since 2001?
Using 2011 Census data, we look at the population’s marital status (including both marriage and civil partnerships), and how these have changed since 2001. Living arrangements are also analysed as an alternative to legal partnership status, for example, cohabiting couples who are not in a legal partnership. Comparisons are made with Scotland, Northern Ireland and other developed countries.
Methodology related to Divorce
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