In 2022, the divorce rate in the United States stood at *** per 1,000 of the population. Divorce in the U.S. Divorce is the termination of a marital union. In the United States, as in most other countries, it is a legal process in which a judge or another legal authority dissolves the bonds of matrimony existing between two persons. The process of divorce also normally involves issues surrounding distribution of property, financial support of the former spouse, child custody and child support. A divorce also allows a person to marry again.In the United States, divorce is, like marriage, a matter for state governments, not the federal government. Although divorce laws vary from state to state, for example on which terms a divorce can be arranged, a divorce must be certified by a court of law to become effective. A declining divorce rate Over the last couple of years, both the marriage rate and the divorce rate have been declining in the United States. As of 2009, the average length of a first marriage in the U.S. was ***** years, while the average length of a second marriage was about ** years.

Number of divorces and various divorce indicators (crude divorce rate, divorce rate for married persons, age-standardized divorce rate, total divorce rate, mean and median duration of marriage, median duration of divorce proceedings, percentage of joint divorce applications), by place of occurrence, 1970 to most recent year.

In 2023, the divorce rate in Germany lay at about 35.74 percent. The highest divorce rate at almost 52 percent was recorded in 2005. Since then, divorce rates have ranged between 30 and 50 percent. The divorce rate compares the number of marriages with the number of divorces in the same period under review. Accordingly, the divorce rate does not provide any information about the ‘divorce risk’ of a particular marriage cohort, as the divorces do not relate to a marriage year.

Portugal was the European country with the highest divorce rate in 2020, counting almost 92 divorces per 100 marriages. However, in 2023, the divorce-marriage ratio decreased to 47 percent. In 2020, the ratio peaked because of the drop in marriages during the coronavirus (COVID-19) related lockdown. Pandemic years registered the lowest numbers of marriages and divorces since 2010 Until 2019, the annual divorce rate in Portugal had been relatively stable at around two divorces per 1,000 residents. Nevertheless, during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the lowest divorce rate so far was recorded at 1.7, which may be explained by the restrictions imposed by lockdowns and the delays in administrative and bureaucratic services. Still, and due to the same reasons, the number of marriages also suffered a steep decline in 2020 to around 18,900, more than doubling in 2022 and surpassing 2011 figures. First marriages and motherhood occur later in life in Portugal The mean age on first marriage of both men and women in Portugal has been increasing at an almost constant pace for years. 2021 marked an inversion of this tendency, with the mean age of men when marrying for the first time decreasing to 34.3 years of age and the mean age of women decreasing to 32.9 years. However, the rising trend in age was quickly reestablished, as 2022 recorded the highest mean age on first marriage for both sexes. Under the same inclination is the average age of women when giving birth to their first child, which was at 30.9 years in 2021, increasing two years of age in relation to 2010.

Mean age and median age at divorce and at marriage, for persons who divorced in a given year, by sex or gender and place of occurrence, 1970 to most recent year.

As of 2024, the divorce rate in China decreased to *** divorces per 1,000 inhabitants. Before 2020, this number had been constantly increasing since 2002. Divorce rate in Asian countries The divorce rate in China soared from around **** divorces per 1,000 people in 2000 to **** divorces in 2019. This is a quite high value compared to the divorce rate of countries in the Asia Pacific region. However, China shares the fate of a growing divorce rate with many other developing countries, while in most developed countries, the number of divorces per 1,000 inhabitants is either stable or falling. For example, the divorce rate in Singapore has been manly stable at *** divorces per 1,000 inhabitants in the last ten years and the divorce rate in South Korea has fallen from *** in 2009 to *** in 2024. In comparison, the U.S. divorce rate has been falling since 1992 from *** divorces per 1,000 people to *** divorces in 2022. Dating scene in China For the younger generations, dating and marriage happens (if at all) at a much later life stage compared to their parents. The fact that China has the highest working hours in the region does not ease the dire situation for singles in China, most of them being employed as professionals or employed in the media sector, where long working hours and high work pressure are quite common.

The number of divorces in Sweden decreased since 2020, dropping to 21,200 in the most recent year. It peaked in 2013, when almost 27,000 couples got divorced. The annual number of divorces in the country was relatively stable between 2010 and 2020. Age of divorced In 2022, the largest number of divorces in Sweden was among people between 40 and 44 years of age, amounting to around 6,500. This was followed by the age groups 45 to 49 years, and 35 to 39 years. Length of a marriage The average length of marriages dissolved by divorce fluctuated somewhat but remained relatively stable in recent years. A marriage in Sweden dissolved by divorce lasted on average 12.2 years in 2022, the longest during the past 10 years. For marriages that lasted until they were dissolved by death, the average length was 47.3 years.

This table includes the most important key figures on marriage dissolutions due to death and divorce among the registered population of the Netherlands. Excluding dissolutions due to ending registered partnerships.

Data available from: 1950

Status of the figures: All data recorded in this table are final data.

Changes per 1 July 2025: Data of 2024 have been added.

When will new figures be published? In the third quarter of 2026 final figures of 2025 will be added in this publication.

Independent analysis of anonymised property transactions completed by Ready Steady Sell between January and March 2025. Includes median completion times, fall-through rates, and situational insights (probate, repossession, divorce, tenanted, unmortgageable).

Cambodia Population Distribution: Divorced data was reported at 1.800 % in 2021. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.700 % for 2020. Cambodia Population Distribution: Divorced data is updated yearly, averaging 1.750 % from Jun 2020 (Median) to 2021, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.800 % in 2021 and a record low of 1.700 % in 2020. Cambodia Population Distribution: Divorced data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Institute of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Cambodia – Table KH.G001: Population: Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey (CSES).

The average age at which people in England and Wales get married has been rising since the 1970s, with the average age of men marrying women increasing from **** in 1972 to **** by 2019, with the average age for women marrying men going up from **** to **** in the same time period. Since 2014 and the legalization of same-sex marriage in England and Wales, the average age for men marrying men has fluctuated between **** and ****, while the average age for females marrying females has fluctuated between **** and ****. Strong support for same-sex marriage in UK Over ten years after same-sex marriage was legalized in most of the UK, polls have shown consistent support for the legislation. As of May 2025, ** percent of Britons supported same-sex marriage, compared with ** percent who opposed it, and ***** percent who did not know. England and Wales was the first jurisdiction to allow same-sex marriages, with the first marriages taking place in March 2014, followed by Scotland in December of that year. Legislation allowing same-sex marriage was not passed in Northern Ireland until 2019, with the first marriages not taking place in 2020. Most popular wedding dates In 2022, the most popular wedding date across the entire year in England and Wales was July 30, with ***** weddings taking place that day. The next most popular wedding date was August 20, which had ***** weddings, followed by May 28, at *****. All three of these dates were Saturday's, which, at over ** percent of all weddings, was by far the most popular day of the week for weddings to be held the week. As for the most popular month, August had the most weddings held in 2022, at ******, with ****** being held in July, and ****** in June, the second, and third-most popular months for weddings, respectively.

In 2020, the number of divorces in France was 57,437. France had a divorce rate of 55 per 100 marriages in 2020. A number which was not one of the highest in Europe, but that emphasizes the fact that in recent years, divorce is a phenomenon with a significant impact on Western countries. The characteristics of French divorces Despite a record number of 152,020 separations in 2005, the number of divorces in France remained stable since the mid-2000s and has also been declining at a rate of 8 percent between 2004 and 2014. Since then, the number of divorces remained almost the same in the country, even though an decrease has been seen between 2016 and 2017. In 2019, the majority of divorces in France were pronounced by mutual consent. Most of divorces pronounced in France concerned marriages which lasted between 4 years and 7 years. Unions in France The number of marriages in France has been decreasing since 2004 and reached 220,000 in 2021, compared to 236,826 ten years before. Same-sex marriage was legalized in France in 2013, but civil partnerships are the type of unions that have increased in recent years. More than 205,000 civil partnerships were contracted in 2010 in France. Implemented in 1999, civil unions in France are established between two individuals regardless of gender.

In 2023, there were about 15.09 million children living with a single mother in the United States, and about 3.05 million children living with a single father. The number of children living with a single mother is down from its peak in 2012, and the number of children living with a single father is down from its peak in 2005.

Marriage and divorce in the United States

Despite popular opinion in the United States that “half of all marriages end in divorce,” the divorce rate in the U.S. has fallen significantly since 1992. The marriage rate, which has also been decreasing since the 1990s, was still higher than the divorce rate in 2021. Half of all marriages may not end in divorce, but it does seem that fewer people are choosing to get married in the first place.

New family structures

In addition to a falling marriage rate, fewer people in the U.S. have children under the age of 18 living in the house in comparison to 1970. Over the past decade, the share of families with children under 18, whether that be married couples or single parents, has stayed mostly steady, although the number of births in the U.S. has also fallen.

How many married couples are in the U.S.? In 2023, there were 62.18 million married couples in the United States. This is an increase from 40.2 million married couples in 1960. Marriage in the U.S. While the number of married couples in the U.S. has increased in the past few decades, this could very well just be due to population change, since while the U.S. population has been increasing, the marriage rate has decreased significantly since 1990. In addition, the divorce rate has almost halved since 1990 despite concerns that more people are getting divorced than in years past. Same-sex marriage in the U.S. After years of advocacy, same-sex marriage became legal in the United States in June 2015. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal in a landmark ruling in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. In 2015, a clear majority of Americans were in favor of the legalization of same-sex marriage, and approval has only been increasing in the years since.

This statistic depicts the total number of marriages in France from 2000 to 2024. In 2000, the number of marriages amounted to over 305,000, this was the highest number of marriages recorded during the 20-year period. In 2020, the number of marriages dropped sharply, indeed, between 2019 and 2020, the number of annual marriages dropped by more than 70,000. But it rose again, reaching 247,000 in 2024.Same-sex marriage was legalized in France in 2013. Since then, the number of same-sex marriages in France reached 7,000 marriages in 2024, with the highest number recorded in 2014 with 10,522 nuptials.