The number of divorces in Finland remained fairly stable throughout the period from 2014 to 2024. As of 2024, approximately 11,869 marriages ended in divorce. That year, over 21,400 marriages were formed in Finland.

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.

In the period from 2014 to 2024, the number of divorces from same-sex marriages and registered partnerships in Finland fluctuated. In 2024, the number of divorces among female couples was 89, while the corresponding figure among male couples was 29. During the same year, a total of 425 same-sex marriages were formed in Finland. Same-sex marriage became legal in Finland after an amendment to the Marriage Act entered into force on 1 March 2017. Since then, over 3,300 couples have tied the knot. From 2002 to 2017, registration of partnership was available for same-sex couples.

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.

In the period from 2010 to 2020, the average age at first divorce slightly increased for both genders in Finland. In 2020, men were on average 43.4 years old and women 41.1 years old at the time of their first divorce. That year, approximately 13,500 marriages ended in divorce in Finland.