Divorce
Divorce rate lowest for almost 30 years
A total of 132,562 couples formally split last year, down 6.5 per cent, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The number of divorces in England and Wales has fallen to the lowest level for almost 30 years, official figures showed today.
A total of 132,562 couples formally split last year, a drop of 6.5 per cent on 2005 and the third annual fall in succession, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The figure, which excludes Scotland and Northern Ireland, is the lowest since 1977, when there were 129,053 divorces.
The figures also reveal that the idea of “the seven-year itch” may be overly pessimistic with the average failed marriage now lasting as long as 11.6 years - unchanged since 2005.
People in their late 20s had the highest divorce rates with 26 divorces per thousand married men aged 25 to 29 and 27.3 among women in the same age group.
But overall the average age of people divorcing was higher, at 40.9 for women and 43.4 for men.
The number of second-time divorcees has also doubled in the last 25 years.
In 1981, just over one in 10 people getting divorced had already had a previous marriage dissolved. Last year that figure was one in five.
Across the UK as a whole, the number of divorces fell by a more modest 4.5 per cent to 148,141 in 2006 from 155,052 in 2005.
But in Scotland there was a near-20 per cent surge in the number of divorces, up from 10,940 in 2005 to 13,014 last year.
The ONS said the hike could be the result of a sharp cut in the required separation period which came into effect in May last year.
Andrea McLaren, head of Grant Thornton's matrimonial practice in London, said: "The number of high-profile, big money divorce cases seen through the courts recently, combined with an increasing number of couples cohabiting, could be the key factors behind the lowest divorce rate in England and Wales in the last 22 years.
"These high profile cases could be acting as a deterrent to both those considering leaping into marriage and contemplating divorce - particularly given the high financial payouts handed out by the UK courts."
(Published by Times Online, August 30, 2007)
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