- There were 80,057 divorces granted in England and Wales in 2022; a 29.5% decrease compared with 2021 (113,505 divorces) and the lowest number of divorces since 1971.
- In 2022, the median duration of marriages that ended in divorce (the mid-point of all durations) was 12.9 years for opposite-sex couples and 7.5 and 6.3 years for male and female same-sex couples, respectively; the longest seen in our timeseries.
- Divorce rates in 2022 were 6.7 for men and 6.6 for women per 1,000 of the male or female married population (including both opposite-sex and same-sex couples); lower than rates in 2021, with 9.5 for men and 9.4 for women per 1,000 of the married population.
- There were 525 civil partnership dissolutions (including same-sex and opposite-sex couples) in 2022; a 22.8% decrease compared with 2021 (680 dissolutions) and the lowest recorded since 2010.
- The number of divorces and dissolutions granted during 2022 may have been affected by the introduction of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act, which came into effect on 6 April 2022; this act introduced new mandatory waiting periods at important stages, and other changes including allowing couples to end a partnership jointly, and the removal of grounds for divorce (also known as “Facts”).
- There were 7,394 divorces and 54 dissolutions (9.2% of all divorces and 10.3% of all dissolutions) granted under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act; 28.8% of these new-law divorces, and 61.1% of new-law dissolutions, were granted under joint application.
Number of divorces and dissolutions
- applicants can apply jointly for divorce, civil partnership dissolution, or judicial separation, as well as individually
- people who are married or in civil partnerships cannot state grounds for divorce, dissolution, or separation (also known as “Facts”)
- applicants must wait a minimum of 20 weeks from the start of proceedings until applying for the conditional order
The 2022 divorce and dissolution figures include divorces and dissolutions granted under both the former and new legislation. In 2022, there were 80,057 divorces in total in England and Wales, which is a decrease of 29.5% compared with 2021 (113,505 divorces). This is the lowest number of divorces since 1971, when the divorce reform act came into effect. The number of dissolutions granted in 2022 was 525, which was a 22.8% decrease from 2021 (680 dissolutions), and the lowest number of dissolutions since 2010.
The higher number of divorces and dissolutions granted in 2021 may partially reflect delays in the number and timing of divorces granted during 2020 because of disruption in family court activity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The lower number of divorces in 2022 may partially reflect the introduction of new minimum waiting periods, meaning that divorces applied for after 6 April 2022 may take longer to reach final order.
In 2022, there were 78,759 opposite-sex divorces, which is a decrease of 29.6% from 2021 and 23.1% from 2020 divorces. This is the lowest number seen since 1971, when there were 74,437 divorces.
Same-sex divorces also decreased, to 1,298 in 2022. This is a decrease of 17.4% compared with 1,571 same-sex divorces in 2021, which is the first year in which we have seen a decrease since the introduction of same-sex marriage in 2014. Previously, same-sex divorces increased year on year from 22 in 2015 to 1,571 in 2021.
Final orders granted under new legislation
There were 7,394 divorces and 54 dissolutions granted under the new legislation that came into effect on 6 April 2022 (9.2% of all divorces and 10.3% of all dissolutions in 2022). Of these, joint applications were more prevalent among those dissolving a civil partnership than those divorcing; 28.8% of new-law divorces, and 61.1% of new-law dissolutions, were granted under joint application.
A higher proportion of same-sex divorces, 15.4% (200), were granted under the new law in 2022, compared with opposite-sex divorces. Of these, 69.0% were granted to female couples. The majority (60.9%) of divorces granted to female same-sex couples under the new law were applied for by a sole applicant; with 39.1% applying jointly. Whereas 46.8% of male same-sex couples granted a divorce under the new law were applied for by a sole applicant, compared with 53.2% of male couples applying jointly.
Divorce rates
In 2022, the divorce rate for all couples was 6.7 for men and 6.6 for women per 1,000 of the married population. These are the lowest rates since 1971, when the rates for both men and women were 5.9 per 1,000 of the married population (opposite-sex only). The 2022 rates are a decrease of 2.8 compared with 2021 rates for both men and women. This was a change from 2020 to 2021 when divorce rates had shown an increase. The timing of divorce completions had been affected by processing delays (in 2017 and 2018) and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (2020 and 2021), which may have affected the trend for the 2017 data year onwards.
Figure 2: Divorce rates have fallen to their lowest level since 1971
Divorce rates for males and females per 1,000 of the married population aged 16 years and over, England and Wales, 1950 to 2022
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Notes:
- Divorce rates from 2015 include both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.
- More information on each of the marriage and divorce acts referred to in the chart can be found in our Divorces Quality and Methodology Information (QMI) report.
Marriages ending in divorce
The cumulative percentages of marriages ending in divorce before their 25th (silver) wedding anniversary has increased over time. For couples who married in 1963 (the first cohort with data available), 23% had divorced before their 25th anniversary. This has steadily risen to 41% for couples who married in 1997 (the latest marriage cohort to potentially reach their 25th anniversary).
The percentage of marriages ending before their 10th anniversary can give an indication of divorce trends for those marrying more recently, and this has also changed over time. This has increased from 1 in 10 couples married in 1965 (10%) to 1 in 4 couples in 1995 (25%). For couples married more recently, however, there has been a decrease, with less than 1 in 5 (18%) marriages in 2012 ending in divorce before their 10th wedding anniversary (the most recent cohort to reach their 10th anniversary).
For more recent marriages (in 2012 to 2015) only 1 in 10 had ended in divorce before their 7th anniversary. This level was last seen for couples who married in 1972.
Duration of marriage
For opposite-sex divorces in 2022, the median duration of marriage at divorce (the mid-point of all durations) was 12.9 years, an increase compared with 12.3 years in 2021. Median duration of marriage at divorce has been generally increasing over time, and the median duration of marriage at divorce recorded for 2022 is the longest on record. The lowest recorded median duration was in 1985 with 8.9 years. For those with less than 30 years of marriage, the most common duration of marriage for opposite-sex couples getting divorced in 2022 was 7 years, with 4,143 divorces.
For same-sex divorces in 2022, the median duration of marriage was 7.5 years for male same-sex couples and 6.3 years for female same-sex couples. Both male and female marriage durations at divorce are the highest seen since records began, which reflects that same-sex divorces have only been possible in England and Wales since 2015. The most common duration of marriage for male same-sex couples in 2022 was 10 to 14 years (81 divorces), and 6 years for female same-sex couples (121 divorces). It is feasible for the duration of a same-sex marriage to be longer than it has been possible to form a same-sex marriage in England and Wales. This is most likely because these couples converted a civil partnership into a marriage or formed a same-sex marriage elsewhere before they could do so in England and Wales.
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