The Office for National Statistics has published its statistical bulletin for divorces in England and Wales in 2012. It shows divorce rates per-married couple rising from 1973 to 1993, then falling until a low point in 2009,then rising slightly and apparently fluctuating just slightly higher since then, at points between their 1977 and 1978 levels.
The report includes links to detailed excel tables of exact divorce and marriage numbers from 1932 to 2012, and divorce rates per-married-couple from 1972 to 2012, shown below, and many other informative tables on age, marriage duration, cohort analyses (the best way to determine an actual lifetime probability of divorce), previous marriages, and which sex files for the divorce (females around two-thirds of the time; both file jointly less than 0.2% of the time).
- Divorce rates: In 2012, 10.8 people divorced per thousand married population, a decrease of 19% compared with 13.3 in 2002.
- Age at divorce: The number of divorces in 2012 was highest among men and women aged 40 to 44.
- Duration of marriage: The median duration of marriage for divorces granted in 2012 was 11.5 years, which was the same as in 2011. This is an increase from 11.1 years in 2002.
- Marital status before marriage: In 2012, 19% of men and women divorcing had their previous marriage end in divorce.
- Children of divorced couples: Almost half (48%) of couples divorcing in 2012 had at least one child aged under 16 living in the family.
- 60% of marriages are expected to survive to the 20th anniversary.
- The average marriage is expected to last for 32 years.
The number of divorces in England and Wales in 2012 was 118,140, an increase of 0.5% since 2011, when there were 117,558 ... [it] declined between 2003 and 2009 from 153,065 to 113,949 followed by a 4.9% increase in 2010 [and] has remained relatively stable since 2010, fluctuating just below the number recorded in 2010."
(Those are absolute numbers, unlike the US ones that are most often reported in per-capita terms. US per-capita rates have often fallen while absolute numbers rise, due to population growth.)
From: "REPORT REVEALS THAT NUMBER OF DIVORCES IN ENGLAND AND WALES INCREASED IN 2012", BY MATTHIAS MUELLER - 06 FEBRUARY 2014 on www.familylaw.co.uk
CIting original source: "Divorces in England and Wales, 2012", Statistical Bulletin, Office for National Statistics, which considers any change from 2011 to 2012 inconclusive. It mentions competing theories on the effect of economic recessions on divorce, and says it is too early to tell if either is correct.
Divorce rates1 by sex, 1972-2012 |
England and Wales |
|
|
|
|
Year |
Divorces per thousand married males |
Divorces per thousand married females |
|
|
|
1973 |
8.4 |
8.4 |
1974 |
9.0 |
9.0 |
1975 |
9.6 |
9.6 |
1976 |
10.1 |
10.1 |
1977 |
10.4 |
10.3 |
1978 |
11.6 |
11.6 |
1979 |
11.2 |
11.2 |
1980 |
12.0 |
12.0 |
1981 |
11.9 |
11.9 |
1982 |
12.1 |
12.0 |
1983 |
12.2 |
12.2 |
1984 |
12.0 |
12.0 |
1985 |
13.4 |
13.3 |
1986 |
12.9 |
12.8 |
1987 |
12.7 |
12.6 |
1988 |
12.9 |
12.8 |
1989 |
12.8 |
12.7 |
1990 |
13.1 |
12.9 |
1991 |
13.6 |
13.4 |
1992 |
13.9 |
13.6 |
1993 |
14.3 |
14.1 |
1994 |
13.8 |
13.6 |
1995 |
13.7 |
13.5 |
1996 |
13.9 |
13.7 |
1997 |
13.1 |
12.9 |
1998 |
13.0 |
12.9 |
1999 |
13.0 |
12.9 |
2000 |
12.7 |
12.6 |
2001 |
13.0 |
12.9 |
2002 |
13.4 |
13.3 |
2003 |
13.9 |
13.9 |
2004 |
14.0 |
13.9 |
2005 |
12.9 |
12.9 |
2006 |
12.1 |
12.1 |
2007 |
11.8 |
11.8 |
2008 |
11.2 |
11.3 |
2009 |
10.5 |
10.6 |
2010 |
11.0 |
11.1 |
2011 |
10.8 |
10.8 |
2012 |
10.8 |
10.9 |
FN 1. Divorce rates for 2002-2010 are calculated using marital status population estimates based on the 2001 Census. Revisions to these estimates to take account of the 2011 Census are not currently planned. Divorce rates for 2011 and 2012 are based on estimated 2011 marital status population estimates which use the mid-2011 population estimates based on the 2011 Census and the marital status distribution from the 2008-based marital status population projections for 2011. Consequently comparisons between rates for 2002-2010 and 2011-2012 should be treated with caution due to the different census bases used. For more information see the section of the Statistical Bulletin titled ‘Availability of Population Estimates by Marital Status and the Calculation of Divorce Rates for 2011 and 2012’.
Number of divorces by age at divorce, 2012 |
England and Wales |
|
Source: Office for National Statistics |
|
|
|
|
|
|
AGE |
Husband |
Wife |
Under 20 |
2 |
25 |
20–24 |
835 |
2,207 |
25–29 |
6,364 |
10,982 |
30–34 |
14,835 |
18,041 |
35–39 |
18,804 |
19,840 |
40–44 |
22,568 |
22,506 |
45–49 |
21,114 |
19,502 |
50–54 |
15,022 |
12,546 |
55–59 |
8,893 |
6,465 |
60 and over
|
9,703
|
6,026
|
Number of marriages and divorces, 1932–2012 |
England and Wales |
|
|
|
|
Year |
Divorces |
Marriages |
1932 |
3,894 |
307,184 |
1933 |
4,042 |
318,191 |
1934 |
4,287 |
342,307 |
1935 |
4,069 |
349,536 |
1936 |
5,146 |
354,644 |
1937 |
4,886 |
359,160 |
1938 |
6,250 |
361,768 |
1939 |
8,254 |
439,694 |
1940 |
7,755 |
470,549 |
1941 |
6,368 |
388,921 |
1942 |
7,618 |
369,744 |
1943 |
10,012 |
296,432 |
1944 |
12,312 |
302,714 |
1945 |
15,634 |
397,626 |
1946 |
29,829 |
385,606 |
1947 |
60,254 |
401,210 |
1948 |
43,698 |
396,891 |
1949 |
34,856 |
375,041 |
1950 |
30,870 |
358,490 |
1951 |
28,767 |
360,624 |
1952 |
33,922 |
349,308 |
1953 |
30,326 |
344,998 |
1954 |
28,027 |
341,731 |
1955 |
26,816 |
357,918 |
1956 |
26,265 |
352,944 |
1957 |
23,785 |
346,903 |
1958 |
22,654 |
339,913 |
1959 |
24,286 |
340,126 |
1960 |
23,868 |
343,614 |
1961 |
25,394 |
346,678 |
1962 |
28,935 |
347,732 |
1963 |
32,052 |
351,329 |
1964 |
34,868 |
359,307 |
1965 |
37,785 |
371,127 |
1966 |
39,067 |
384,497 |
1967 |
43,093 |
386,052 |
1968 |
45,794 |
407,822 |
1969 |
51,310 |
396,746 |
1970 |
58,239 |
415,487 |
1971 |
74,437 |
404,737 |
1972 |
119,025 |
426,241 |
1973 |
106,003 |
400,435 |
1974 |
113,500 |
384,389 |
1975 |
120,522 |
380,620 |
1976 |
126,694 |
358,567 |
1977 |
129,053 |
356,954 |
1978 |
143,667 |
368,258 |
1979 |
138,706 |
368,853 |
1980 |
148,301 |
370,022 |
1981 |
145,713 |
351,973 |
1982 |
146,698 |
342,166 |
1983 |
147,479 |
344,334 |
1984 |
144,501 |
349,186 |
1985 |
160,300 |
346,389 |
1986 |
153,903 |
347,924 |
1987 |
151,007 |
351,761 |
1988 |
152,633 |
348,492 |
1989 |
150,872 |
346,697 |
1990 |
153,386 |
331,150 |
1991 |
158,745 |
306,756 |
1992 |
160,385 |
311,564 |
1993 |
165,018 |
299,197 |
1994 |
158,175 |
291,069 |
1995 |
155,499 |
283,012 |
1996 |
157,107 |
278,975 |
1997 |
146,689 |
272,536 |
1998 |
145,214 |
267,303 |
1999 |
144,556 |
263,515 |
2000 |
141,135 |
267,961 |
2001 |
143,818 |
249,227 |
2002 |
147,735 |
255,596 |
2003 |
153,065 |
270,109 |
2004 |
152,923 |
273,069 |
2005 |
141,322 |
247,805 |
2006 |
132,140 |
239,454 |
2007 |
128,131 |
235,367 |
2008 |
121,708 |
235,794 |
2009 |
113,949 |
232,443 |
2010 |
119,589 |
243,808 |
2011 |
117,558 |
247,890P |
2012 |
118,140 |
.. |