Latest Government figures show divorce rates fell in 2020

On 1 February 2022 the Office for National Statistics released their latest figures for divorces in England and Wales in 2020.

Among other things, these show that in 2020 the average (median) duration of marriage at the time of divorce was 11.9 years for opposite-sex couples, which is down from 12.4 years in 2019.

The average duration of marriage for same-sex couples was less, however same-sex marriage was only introduced in 2014.

Whilst many may have thought that the strains of lockdown would have led to an increase in divorce proceedings, the figures published by the Office for National Statistics also show that divorce rates in England and Wales fell in 2020 with 103,592 divorces granted, which is a decrease of 4.5% compared to divorces in 2019.

We believe that the real impact of the pandemic upon unhappy relationships will be shown in next year’s statistics and expect that many couples have chosen to wait for the welcome introduction of the new no-fault divorce in April 2022 to avoid the “blame game.”

A link to the statistics published by the ONS can be found here:-  Divorces in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

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Written by : Katie Wilson (Associate Solicitor)