Going through a divorce is an emotionally taxing experience. It’s the end of a relationship and the beginning of a new chapter in your life. Times have changed and so have the divorce rates.
We’ve analysed the official government data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to discover just how much divorce has changed over the past decades, and where we stand today. Let’s dig into the latest statistics.
Are divorce rates increasing?
Divorces are not increasing in England and Wales. Despite what the news might tell you, the number of divorces is holding relatively steady. In 2023, there were 102,678 divorces in England and Wales, representing a return to pre-pandemic levels.
In recent years, the number of divorces has also fluctuated. For example, 2022 saw a 2.8% year-on-year decrease in the number of divorces, due to the introduction of no-fault divorces, which have significantly reduced conflict between divorcing couples.
However, increases and decreases aren’t spread equally across generations. Of particular interest is the rise in ‘grey divorces’, which involve couples aged 50 and older.
The reason behind this is that more couples are deciding to explore their options after their children grow up. Back in 1990, grey divorces accounted for just 8.7% of all divorces. Today, they represent 36% of divorces.
Is the stability in divorce rates because more couples are staying together?
Not exactly. Marriage levels, if we exclude the pandemic years, have fallen to their lowest levels since the 1850s. In fact, the Centre for Social Justice found a 44% decrease in marriages from 1973 to 2023. They also reported that pensioners are more likely to get married than young men, so it’s not a matter of fewer divorces but fewer marriages.
The latest divorce statistics in England and Wales
Divorce rates have generally declined since peaking in the 1990s. In 2023, the number of divorces has increased, but it’s important to mention that this is actually a backlog from 2022. In 2022, the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, which allows for no-fault divorces, was implemented for the first time.
With that in mind, what conclusions can we draw from the figures provided by the Office for National Statistics?
How likely are couples to divorce?
It’s a common saying that half of all marriages end in divorce. If we look at the figures for England and Wales from 1963 to 2023, only 33.9% of couples divorced over this period.
Go deeper into these stats, and you’ll find that this is the average, but it doesn’t tell the full story. Couples are more likely to divorce the longer they’ve been married. Just 17.5% of couples married for one to ten years are divorced.
Over the years, this trend hasn’t remained steadfast, though. In 1995, one in four couples divorced within the first decade of marriage, whereas in 2012 the figure had declined to 17.5%. It shows that couples are becoming more willing to overcome those early relationship troubles, rather than immediately calling a solicitor.
Impact of divorce on wealth
One household splitting into two households will always mean each household has less wealth. In the Wealth and Assets Survey from the ONS, just 13% of married households had less than £85,000 in total wealth, but this band consists of 36% of divorced households.
If we look at the other end of the scale, 50% of households with more than £500,000 in total wealth were married ones. Just 23% of households that had divorced had this much wealth, which shows the real financial cost of divorce.
Gender divide in post-divorce wealth
Courts generally aim for a 50/50 division of assets, but that’s just the starting point, and many divorces don’t always end with an equal split. Despite changes to the divorce system, there’s still a massive gender divide in post-divorce wealth.
The median wealth for women who have divorced was between £85,000 and £200,000, whereas divorced men saw a range of £200,000 and £300,000. If you’re wondering why, here are the factors likeliest to impact this divide:
· Women are more likely to take career breaks to care for children.
· Approximately 71% of divorces don’t involve pension wealth being split.
· Career disruption reduces a woman’s earning ability post-divorce.
In fact, the only wealth band in which women have more wealth than men after divorce is the sub-£20,000 range, where factors like earning capacity and private pension wealth are least likely to come into play.
Which marriage year is most likely to end in divorce?
The latest statistics reveal that 1987 was the worst year to get married, with 45% of couples who married that year filing for divorce. Note that this is the cumulative divorce rate, so it’s unsurprising that later years have lower divorce rates, since those years have fewer accumulated divorces.
But that doesn’t make the statistic a misnomer. If we track the data for each marriage year and look at the cumulative divorce rate over time, we still see that 1987 has a higher divorce rate. For example, the 2016-2020 range still has lower divorce rates per year at each wedding anniversary.
How recent divorce law changes have affected divorce rates
The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 took effect from April 2022. By replacing the old fault-based approach to divorce, there’s no longer any need to provide evidence for why you want to divorce.
No-fault divorces have changed divorce rates significantly, with a 20% increase in applications from early 2022 as the law came into effect. Since the 20-week waiting period stretched out the process, 2022 reported a 29.6% decline in divorces.
Naturally, this resulted in 2023 seeing a return to pre-pandemic divorce levels as actual divorces started coming through.
Some commentators feared that the surge would be permanent. Despite that, the long-term trend shows divorces tracking downwards.
With that in mind, even in an era of declining divorces, there are couples who may think that they’ve reached the end of the road. Like all major life decisions, it’s vital to have professionals by your side to guide you through the process.
By working with expert divorce solicitors at VM Family Law, you’ll be familiar with your rights, understand the legal process, and ensure there are no unnecessary delays. If you want to learn more about handling your divorce, contact us now.