How Many Marriages End in Divorce?

Family law solicitor and director, Sarah Clubley, takes a look at the newly released Office of National Statistics (ONS) divorce statistics.

People say that 50% of marriages end in divorce and many people believe divorce rates have increased in recent years. The question is, do UK divorce statistics actually reflect this?

In fact, divorce rates are at their lowest levels since the 1970s and seem to be continuing to fall

The most up-to-date key statistics are as follows:-

• The number of divorces in 2020 was 103,592, which is 4% less than the previous year.
• Since 2003, the rate of divorces appears to be falling. Changes in attitudes to cohabitation as an alternative to marriage or prior to marriage, particularly at younger ages, are likely to be a contributing factor.
• There has been a 20% increase in divorces during the first year of marriage. In 2019, this equalled 1274 of divorces compared to 2020 in which this equalled 1530 of divorces.
• All reasons for divorcing have decreased from 2019 to 2020, apart from ‘2-year separation with consent’, which has increased for both husband and wife. Furthermore, wifes are over 2x more likely to divorce a husband due to unreasonable behaviour than their male counterparts.
• The most common reason for divorce between 2019 and 2020 was unreasonable behaviour and 2-year separation. The least common reason for divorce was adultery.