31/08/2005

Divorce rate ‘second highest since 1996’

The divorce fell by 0.1% in England and Wales in 2004, the latest figures have revealed, although the number of divorces remains at its second highest level since 1996.

The number of divorces in England and Wales last year fell from 153,490 to 153, 339, the Office of National Statistics reported.

However, divorces in the UK as a whole increased slightly, rising from 167,116 to 166,737 in 2004 – an increase of 0.2% on 2003 figures.

The divorce rate was highest for men and women in their mid to late twenties, with 28.7 divorces per 1,000 married men aged 25-29 and 30.3 per 1,000 married women in the same age group.

More than two-thirds of divorces (69%) were granted to the wife, with the reason for just over half of these (52%) cited as the husband’s behaviour.

For divorces granted to the husband, the most common fact proven was two years separation with consent, attributed to nearly a third of cases (31%).

The ONS found that the average age for couples to get divorced increased in 2004 – the average age for men was 42.7 years and 40.2 for women, compared with 42.3 and 39.8, respectively in 2003.

The average length of marriages for divorces granted also increased, rising to 11.5 years in 2004, compared to 11.3 the previous year.

The ONS also found that more than half (53%) of the couples divorcing in 2004 had at least one child under 16 – a fall of 2% on 2003 figures. Nearly two thirds (64%) of those children were under eleven, and just over a fifth (21%) were under five.

(KMcA/SP)

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