As of 2025, Sri Lanka had the lowest divorce rate in the world, with 0.15 divorces per 1,000 population. Vietnam and Guatemala followed with 0.2 divorces per 1,000 inhabitants.

In 2023, the European country with the highest divorce rate per 100 marriages was Finland, with more than 55 divorces. At the bottom of the list was Ireland with only 15.5 divorces per 100 marriages.

China Population: Divorce Rate data was reported at 0.256 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.204 % for 2022. China Population: Divorce Rate data is updated yearly, averaging 0.097 % from Dec 1978 (Median) to 2023, with 46 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.336 % in 2019 and a record low of 0.018 % in 1978. China Population: Divorce Rate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: No of Marriage and Divorce.

Data on marriages and divorces at national level are transmitted by the National Statistics Institutes on voluntary basis in the context of the annual demographic data collections in the field of demography carried out by Eurostat.

The POPSTAT (population statistics) questionnaire collects annual mandatory and voluntary demographic data from the National Statistical Institutes. It is the most in-depth annual national and regional demographic and migration data collection. The data relate to populations, births, deaths, immigrants, emigrants, marriages and divorces, and is broken down into several categories (Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No 1260/2013 and Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007).

The completeness of the demographic data collected on a voluntary basis depends on the availability and completeness of information provided by the National Statistical Institutes.

The following statistics on marriages and divorces are collected from the National Statistical Institutes:

• Marriages by previous legal union status of marrying persons;
• First-time marrying persons by age, year of birth and sex;
• Marriages by country of citizenship of marrying persons;
• Marriages by country of birth of marrying persons;
• Divorces by duration and year of the marriage;
• Divorces by country of citizenship of spouses;
• Divorces by country of birth of spouses.

Statistics on marriages and divorces: based on the different breakdowns of data on marriages and divorces received, Eurostat produces the following:

• Statistics available in the online table Marriage indicators (demo_nind):
  • Total number of marriages;
  • Crude marriage rate;
  • Mean age at first marriage – male;
  • Mean age at first marriage – female;
  • Total first marriage rate – male;
  • Total first marriage rate – female;
  • Proportion of first marriages – male;
  • Proportion of first marriages – female.
• Statistics available in the online table Divorce indicators (demo_ndivind):
  • Total number of divorces;
  • Crude divorce rate;
  • Divorces per 100 marriages.

Albania Vital Statistics: Divorces: per 100 Marriages data was reported at 15.800 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 24.400 % for 2020. Albania Vital Statistics: Divorces: per 100 Marriages data is updated yearly, averaging 13.972 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2021, with 32 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 26.100 % in 2019 and a record low of 5.900 % in 1997. Albania Vital Statistics: Divorces: per 100 Marriages data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Institute of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Albania – Table AL.G003: Vital Statistics.

Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the bonds of matrimony between a married couple under the rule of law of the particular country or state. Divorce laws vary considerably around the world, but in most countries, divorce requires the sanction of a court or other authority in a legal process, which may involve issues of distribution of property, child custody, alimony (spousal support), child visitation/access, parenting time, child support, and division of debt. In most countries, monogamy is required by law, so divorce allows each former partner to marry another person.

According to a recent survey of 191 CDFA professionals from across North America, the three leading causes of divorce are "basic incompatibility" (43%), "infidelity" (28%), and "money issues" (22%).

In this dataset, we can spot facts about divorces, and trends across countries - continents. Mainly we have the marriage, divorce rates and the percentage score as well as numbers of divorces (given by the source and year as provided).

Vital Statistics: Japanese Only: Per 1000: Divorce Rate data was reported at 1.700 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.730 % for 2016. Vital Statistics: Japanese Only: Per 1000: Divorce Rate data is updated yearly, averaging 1.280 % from Dec 1947 (Median) to 2017, with 71 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.300 % in 2002 and a record low of 0.730 % in 1963. Vital Statistics: Japanese Only: Per 1000: Divorce Rate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.G005: Vital Statistics.

In 2016, crude divorce rates were highest in Kazakhstan which was estimated at around ***** divorces per thousand people. Crude divorce rates were highest in Korea and Australia in year 2000, each amounting to around 2.6 divorces per thousand people.

Hong Kong Divorce Statistics: Divorce Decrees data was reported at 19,394.000 Unit in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 17,196.000 Unit for 2016. Hong Kong Divorce Statistics: Divorce Decrees data is updated yearly, averaging 13,129.000 Unit from Dec 1981 (Median) to 2017, with 37 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 22,271.000 Unit in 2013 and a record low of 2,060.000 Unit in 1981. Hong Kong Divorce Statistics: Divorce Decrees data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Census and Statistics Department. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Hong Kong SAR – Table HK.G013: Vital Statistics: GHS: RPA: Marriages.

Armenia Vital Statistics: Crude Divorce Rate: per 1000 Population data was reported at 1.500 Person in 2024. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1.500 Person for 2023. Armenia Vital Statistics: Crude Divorce Rate: per 1000 Population data is updated yearly, averaging 1.100 Person from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2024, with 25 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.500 Person in 2024 and a record low of 0.400 Person in 2000. Armenia Vital Statistics: Crude Divorce Rate: per 1000 Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Armenia – Table AM.G003: Vital Statistics.

Singapore Male Divorce Rate: Per 1000 Married Resident Males: 45 - 49 data was reported at 7.700 NA in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 8.400 NA for 2016. Singapore Male Divorce Rate: Per 1000 Married Resident Males: 45 - 49 data is updated yearly, averaging 5.650 NA from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2017, with 38 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.500 NA in 2013 and a record low of 2.100 NA in 1980. Singapore Male Divorce Rate: Per 1000 Married Resident Males: 45 - 49 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Singapore – Table SG.G007: Vital Statistics: Marriages & Divorces.

In 2022, the divorce rate for all Benelux countries was very similar; in the Netherlands it was **** percent, compared to *** percent in Belgium and *** percent in Luxembourg. For all countries, the divorce rate had been steadily increasing from 1950 to 1970, before fluctuating significantly in the years afterwards.

Egypt Vital Statistics: Number of Divorce Contracts data was reported at 198.269 Unit th in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 192.079 Unit th for 2016. Egypt Vital Statistics: Number of Divorce Contracts data is updated yearly, averaging 70.000 Unit th from Dec 1943 (Median) to 2017, with 75 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 199.867 Unit th in 2015 and a record low of 55.000 Unit th in 1962. Egypt Vital Statistics: Number of Divorce Contracts data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Egypt – Table EG.G009: Vital Statistics.

According to the 2020 UNIDOMO questionnaire, Portugal clearly led the list of European countries with the highest divorce rate per 100 marriages. With 91.5 divorces the Portuguese Republic led the list, followed by Spain and Luxembourg. All three countries boast a significantly higher share than the other European countries, each reporting a divorce rate over 80 divorces.

A different way to look at Portugal

While Portugal clearly has the most divorces per 100 marriages, looking at divorce rates per 1.000 inhabitants in other European countries alters the picture of the country as one unsettled by significant numbers of divorces. With nearly 1.7 divorces per 1,000 inhabitants Portugal has roughly the same divorce rate as Germany and the Netherlands. Interesting is furthermore that although marriages in Portugal tend to result in divorce lightly more often as in Luxembourg (80.3%), the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg experienced a 0.6 point higher divorce rate.

What about the rest of the World?

While compared with Latin American countries like Guatemala or Peru, ranked among the countries with the lowest divorce rates in the world, Luxembourg’s divorce rate seems excessive. However, when compared with divorce rates (per 1.000 inhabitants) of countries like the United States (2.7) or China (3.5) divorce rates from Luxembourg and Europe are not out of the ordinary.

Socially monogamous birds may break up their partnership by a so-called ’divorce’ behaviour. Divorce rate immensely varies across avian taxa that have a predominantly monogamous social mating system. Although a range of factors associated with divorce have been tested, broad-scale drivers of divorce rate remain contentious. Moreover, the impact of sexual roles in divorce still needs further investigation due to the conflicting interest of males and females. Here we applied phylogenetic comparative methods to analyse one of the largest datasets ever compiled that included divorce rates from published studies of 186 avian species from 25 orders and 61 families. We tested correlations between divorce rate and a group of factors: ‘promiscuity’ of both sexes (propensity of polygamy), migration distance, and adult mortality. Our results showed that only male promiscuity, but not female promiscuity, had a positive relationship with divorce rate. Furthermore, migration distance was positively correlated with divorce rate, while adult mortality rate showed no direct relationship with divorce rate. These findings indicated that divorce might not be a simple adaptive (by sexual selection) or non-adaptive strategy (by accidental loss of a partner), but could be a mixed response to sexual conflict and stress from the ambient environment. Methods We used data from Kenny et al. (2017), Liker et al. (2014), Botero et al. (2012), Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://birdsoftheworld.org) and other published literature (cited in the table). For migration distance, we used data from Delhey et al. 2021. Adult mortality rate was extracted from the AVONET database. Our final dataset contains 232 avian species from 25 orders and 61 families, and the number of species with the full dataset is 186.

Botero, C.A., Dustin, R. , & Rubenstein. (2012). Fluctuating environments, sexual selection and the evolution of flexible mate choice in birds. PLoS ONE, 7(2), e32311. 10.1371/journal.pone.0032311

Delhey, K. , Dale, J. , Valcu, M. , & Kempenaers, B. . (2021). Migratory birds are lighter coloured. Current Biology, 31(23), R1511-R1512. 10.1016/j.cub.2021.10.048

Kenny, K. , Birkhead, T. R. , & Green, J. P. (2017). Allopreening in birds is associated with parental cooperation over offspring care and stable pair bonds across years. Behavioral Ecology, 28(4), 1142-1148. 10.1093/beheco/arx078

Liker, A. , Freckleton, R. P. , & Székely, T. (2014). Divorce and infidelity are associated with skewed adult sex ratios in birds. Current Biology, 24, 880–884. 10.1016/j.cub.2014.02.059 Tobias, J.A., Sheard, C., Pigot, A.L., Devenish, A.J.M., Yang, J., Sayol, F., et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters, 25, 581– 597. 10.1111/ele.13898

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.

Ratio of the number of divorces during the year to the average population in that year, expressed per 1000 inhabitants.

Singapore Crude Divorce Rate: Per 1000 Residents data was reported at 1.900 NA in 2017. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1.900 NA for 2016. Singapore Crude Divorce Rate: Per 1000 Residents data is updated yearly, averaging 1.600 NA from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2017, with 38 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.000 NA in 2011 and a record low of 0.800 NA in 1980. Singapore Crude Divorce Rate: Per 1000 Residents data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Singapore – Table SG.G007: Vital Statistics: Marriages & Divorces.

Turkey Vital Statistics: Registry: Crude Divorce Rate data was reported at 1.599 ‰ in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.591 ‰ for 2016. Turkey Vital Statistics: Registry: Crude Divorce Rate data is updated yearly, averaging 1.585 ‰ from Dec 2001 (Median) to 2017, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.696 ‰ in 2014 and a record low of 1.343 ‰ in 2007. Turkey Vital Statistics: Registry: Crude Divorce Rate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Turkish Statistical Institute. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Turkey – Table TR.G003: Vital Statistics.

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.