The Office for National Statistics has just published its latest figures for divorce rates.
The figures show that the number of divorces fell in 2020. There were 103,592 divorces granted in England and Wales which was a decrease of 4.5% compared with 2019. The vast majority of these were opposite sex couples which accounted for 102,438 divorces and 1,154 divorces among same sex couples.
So why the decrease in divorce rates? The Ministry of Justice has previously reported that family court activities were affected by the coronavirus pandemic as some family courts temporarily suspended their operations for a period of time so this could have impacted ‘the number and timeliness of completed divorces in 2020’ but it is difficult to know the extent of the impact.
Behaviour was the most common reason for wives petitioning among opposite sex couples in 2020 and accounted for 47.4% of petitions. For husbands, the most common reason for divorce was a two-year separation, which accounted for 34.7% of divorces followed by 33.8% for behaviour. Behaviour was the most common reason for divorce among same sex couples and accounted for 57% of male divorces and 55.2% of female divorces.
In 2020, the average duration of marriage at the time of divorce was 11.9 years for opposite-sex couples, a decrease from 12.4 years in 2019. For same-sex divorces in 2020, the average duration of marriage at the time of divorce was 4.7 years for female couples and 5.4 years for male couples.
For more information please click here https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/ons-england-wales-b979932.html
