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.

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.

The highest number of divorces in Sweden in 2022 was between people aged 40 to 44, followed by people from 45 to 49. The lowest number of divorces was registered between people aged 19 yeas or less, ahead of 85-year-old people. In total, nearly 24,000 divorces were registered in Sweden in 2021.

The average length of marriages dissolved by death was 47.3 years in Sweden in 2022. In contrast, the average length of marriages dissolved by divorce was 12.2 years that year. In the past decade, the length of marriages dissolved by both divorce and by death were relatively stable. The number of divorces in Sweden fell by over 2,000 in 2022, dropping to 21,531.

Average age at first marriage highest among men

The average age at first marriage in Sweden increased over the last decade. In 2021, the average age at first marriage among women was 34.2 years, which was an increase of 1.1 years compared to 2011. Among men, the age increase for the average age at first marriage was 0.7 years, reaching an average age of 36.3 years at the first marriage in 2021.

Most marriages among people between 30 and 34 years

The most common age of marriage in 2022 was 30 to 34 years of age. In this age group, over 28,000 individuals got married that year. More than half of all marriages in Sweden in 2022 were among individuals from 25 to 39 years.

In 2021, the number of divorces decreased throughout all countries of the Nordic region. From 2011 to 2021, the total number of divorces decreased in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, whereas it increased in Iceland..

The number of divorces between partners of different genders in Denmark decreased slightly since 2014, when it amounted to over 19,000. It was at its lowest in 2019, with just above 10,000 divorces. In 2023, nearly 12,700 divorces between partners of different genders were registered in Denmark. Spouses in Denmark may divorce if either one or both parties do not wish to continue being together. If one does not agree, they can be divorced after a period of six months of separation. Most Danes have never been married; the number of never married inhabitants was around 2.9 million in 2023.

 Divorces between same-sex partners

Since June 2012, partners of the same gender are allowed to marry in Denmark; the same-sex marriage law was enacted that year. In the period from 2013 to 2021, the number of divorces between women was constantly higher than between men. In 2022, 96 divorces between women and 42 between men were registered in Denmark.

Norway and Sweden

In the past years, the number of divorces in Norway decreased overall from 2010 to 2021. The lowest number during the last decade was registered in 2021. By comparison, the number of divorces in Sweden peaked in 2013, reaching almost 27,000. After that, there was a decreasing trend in the country, the number dropping below 22,000 in 2022 and 2023.

The most common age of people who married in Sweden in 2022 was 30 to 34 years. Over 28,000 people in this age group married that year, followed by people aged 35 to 39 years. The number of new marriages in Sweden fell significantly in 2020 and 2021 compared to previous years, which can be explained by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Increasing average age at first marriage

In Sweden, the average age at the first marriage for both women and men increased in recent years. Among women, it increased by 1.8 years over the last 10 years. For men, the age increase was not as large as for women, and increased by 0.7 years from 2011 to 2021, reaching an average age of 36.3 years when marrying for the first time.

Average length of a marriage

The average length of a marriage in Sweden in 2021 was 46.9 years if it lasted until it was dissolved by death. For marriages that ended in divorce, the average length was 11.7 years.

After increasing from 2011 to 2020, the average age of people at their first marriage fell marginally in 2021 for both men and women. However, it increased slightly again in 2022 and 2023. Men were on average older than women at their first marriage, with 36.8 years and 34.9 years respectively in 2023. Most common age at first marriage In 2022, more than 80,000 people got married in Sweden . Of these, people between 30 and 34 years made up the largest age group. Length of a marriage A marriage in Sweden lasted on average 47.3 years in 2022 if it was dissolved by death. For marriages dissolved by divorce, the average length was 12.2 years. The length of marriages dissolved by divorce increased slightly over the last 10 years, while the length of marriages dissolved by death was relatively stable.

The mean age at first marriage in Spain was, along with Sweden, one of the highest in the European Union. Based on this setup, it is no wonder that the Spanish autonomous communities featured quite elevated numbers - particularly in the Canary Islands, where the average age at first marriage stood at over 41 years old for men and over 38 for women in 2023. Easy come easy go Marriage might be undergoing a declining popularity among Spaniards, or so it would seem by its national (heterosexual) marriage figures, which have experienced a slight decrease overtime. In 2023, the Balearic Islands recording the highest numbers on the list of marriage rate in Spain, with a rate of 4.43 marriages per 1,000 people. Moreover, Spain has one of the highest divorce rates in Europe, with 85.5 divorces per 100 marriages carried out in this country in 2020. Ageing: a common problem across the continent The age at first marriage is not the only digit that is on the rise in Spain. Data related to age in the Mediterranean country essentially behaves in a similar fashion as the rest of its European counterparts, whose population is also slowly but surely getting older. In 2023, the life expectancy at birth in Spain stood at 83.77 years, one of the highest in the world.