In 2021, the divorce rate in England and Wales was *** divorces per thousand married couples, which was significantly higher than the rate in 2018, which was ***. The Divorce rate in England and Wales has been falling steadily since a rate of **** was recorded in 2003 and 2004. In the last available data for Scotland in 2008, the divorce rate was ****.

Annual divorce numbers and rates, by duration of marriage, sex, to whom granted and reason, that took place in England and Wales.

In 2019, the average age for males divorcing in England and Wales was ****, while for females it was ****. Throughout this period, the average age at which people get divorced has been climbing for males and females.

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.

There were 112,182 divorces in the United Kingdom in 2020, compared with 119,428 in the previous year.

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.

Number of couples divorcing, divorce numbers and rates by age of husband and wife, and marital status before marriage.

In 2022, over 28.9 million people in England and Wales were single, compared with 24 million who were married. In the same year, there were 3.8 million people who were divorced, and 3.13 million people who were widowed.

Presents statistics on marriages solemnised, dissolved and annulled in England and Wales. It also includes information on adoptions.

Source agency: Office for National Statistics

Designation: National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: Marriage, Divorce and Adoption Statistics, England and Wales (Series FM2)

In 2023, there were 2,138 divorces granted in Northern Ireland, compared with 2,324 in 2022.

This statistic shows the reasons which respondents cited for initiating their divorce proceedings in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2014/2015, by application method. For both online and face-to-face applications, a majority of respondents filed for divorce due to the behavior of the partner, with 53 and 60 percent respectively.

This statistic shows the cited grounds for divorce as a proportion of all divorces in England and Wales in 2013, by party to whom the divorce was granted. Irrespective of gender, the most common reason was 'behaviour'. The largest gender difference was also found in this category, with the wife citing this as ground for divorce ** percent more often than the husband.

This statistic shows the average cost of a divorce in the United Kingdom in 2014, by the expense allocation which can be undertaken by the divorcee. According to the source, legal fees cost on average ***** British pounds; this was almost the smallest expense group, valued at * British pounds more than the smallest expense, dating. The highest expense resulting from a divorce occurred when buying a new home; this cost on average **** thousand British pounds.

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.