UK has the fastest fall in divorce rates across Europe

Jan 8, 2020 by

from The Marriage Foundation:

A new report released by Marriage Foundation, using data from Eurostat, shows that divorce rates in Europe are continuing to fall – with the UK leading the way. UK couples marrying in 1992 had an actual divorce rate of 30.7% during the first 15 years of their marriage – the 3rd highest rate out of the 20 countries surveyed. A decade later, for UK couples marrying in 2002, this rate had fallen to 28.1%. For UK couples who married in 2017, the projected divorce rate is 22.5%.

Interestingly, divorce rates are overall higher in Scandinavia and Northern Europe (with Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Belgium and Denmark heading up the table) whereas Catholic countries generally have the lowest divorce rates (with the exception of Spain). Slovakia, Poland, Italy and Romania show the lowest divorce rates, with Romania showing a projected divorce rate of just 14% for couples marrying in 2017 – Sweden has the highest projected divorce rate of 36%.

Harry Benson, Research Director for Marriage Foundation, commented:

Our analysis provides the most accurate picture of European divorce rates ever seen. We have long claimed that lower divorce rates in the UK are due to the relaxation of social pressure to marry. The result is that those who do marry are more committed and hence more likely to stay together. We are just beginning to see this trend ripple across Europe in the earliest years of marriage. But over the first fifteen years of marriage, Britain clearly leads Europe.’  

Sir Paul Coleridge, founder of Marriage Foundation and former high court judge, added:

Read here

 

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