Divorce statistics revealed for England and Wales

Divorces are down over the last decade, but up in the last year

The Office for National Statistics has released figures for divorces in England and Wales in 2012. The number of divorces was up 0.5% since 2011. The number of civil partnership dissolutions also increased. However, this is part of an upward trend which is partly explained by the fact that since civil partnerships are relatively new, the number of registered partnerships is increasing.



• In 2012, 10.8 people divorced per thousand married population, a decrease of 19% compared with 13.3 in 2002.


• The number of divorces in 2012 was highest among men and women aged 40 to 44.


• For those married in 1972, 22% of marriages had ended in divorce by their 15th wedding anniversary whereas for those married in 1997, almost a third of marriages had ended by this time.
• Almost half of all divorces in 2012 occurred in the first ten years of marriage and divorce was most likely to occur between the fourth and eighth wedding anniversary.


• 48% of couples divorcing had at least one child aged under 16 living with the family. 

In the light of the increase in divorces, Family Justice Minister Simon Hughes has called on more parents and couples to use mediation rather than face the stressful experience of going to court. He said:

"Mediation works. We are committed to making sure that more people make use of it rather than go through the confrontational and stressful experience of going to court. 

"These figures show thousands of people are sadly still divorcing each year. We want them to do it in the least damaging way for everyone involved, especially children. That is why we want them to use the excellent mediation services available to agree a way forward, rather than have one forced upon them."

Liz Edwards, Chair of Resolution, said:

"It's disappointing to see the divorce rates rising, and we suspect there are a range of reasons why this has happened.

"What's interesting is looking beyond the headline figures, the vast majority of divorce petitions still involve one party assigning blame to the other – either in the form of adultery or unreasonable behaviour. 



"Resolution members see people day in, day out, who have mutually agreed to separate, but because of the divorce laws we currently have, are forced to apportion blame in the divorce petition. This is unhelpful, and often makes conflict and confrontation part and parcel of the divorce process.



"Our members believe separation and divorce should be as non-confrontational as possible, and where marriage has failed, couples should be able to bring it to an end with the minimum distress and conflict. Where there are children, their welfare should be the top priority.



"Resolution wants to see the law change to remove the need to assign blame if a marriage breaks down. This would not make divorce easier, but would recognise the fact that divorce is a sad fact of life for some people – to the tune of nearly a quarter of a million in 2012. They - and crucially, any children they may have - should be able to move forwards with their lives with as little distress as possible."