New figures reveal a snapshot of British divorces
29 Jan 2010
New statistics published by the Office for National Statistics have
provided an interesting insight into the demographics of divorce in
the UK.
It was found that the divorce rate had fallen to its lowest levels
in 35 years, with 121,779 marriages breaking up in 2008 compared to
128,232 in 2007.
The highest divorce rate was recorded in 2003 when there were
153,176 marriage splits.
Experts speculated that a trend for tying the knot later in life
could have resulted in the decline in divorces.
"Later marriage means that people have really got to know what they
want when they marry, as well as having achieved some financial
stability," suggested Anastasia de Waal of Civitas.
However, despite an overall decline, the number of people getting
divorced is still highest among those aged 25 to 29, which could
indicate that younger couples are having trouble dealing with
marital problems when they arise.
Interestingly, the divorce rate among women aged 50-59 and men over
60 actually increased in 2008, possibly as a result of greater
financial independence and fewer people being willing to put up
with an unhappy union during retirement.
Furthermore, the figures do not take into account the biggest part
of the recession, when relationship experts said there were likely
to be more divorces as couples were put under financial pressure,
resulting in arguments.
Indeed, earlier this month, a spokesperson for Relate said that
although there are traditionally more relationship breakdowns in
January, 2010 was likely to see even more than usual.
