Is your marriage struggling & heading towards divorce? If there are no obvious mental health issues, what are the other factors that influence the likelihood of you staying married or getting divorced?
Divorce is a common phenomenon in many countries, but how common is it exactly? How do we measure the divorce rate and how does it vary across countries and regions? In this blog post, I will try to answer these questions and provide some insights into the trends and patterns of divorce in the UK and the USA.
One of the most widely used indicators of divorce is the crude divorce rate, which is the number of divorces per 1,000 population in a given year. For example, if a city has 10,000 people living in it, and 30 couples divorce in one year, then the crude divorce rate for that year is 3 divorces per 1,000 residents. This indicator is easy to calculate and compare across countries and regions, but it has some limitations. For instance, it does not take into account the size and composition of the married population, which may vary depending on the age structure, the marriage rate, and the remarriage rate of the population. Therefore, a high crude divorce rate may not necessarily mean that marriages are more likely to end in divorce, but rather that there are more married people in the population.
Another indicator of divorce is the refined divorce rate, which is the number of divorces per 1,000 married people in a given year. This indicator is more specific and accurate than the crude divorce rate, as it only considers the population that is at risk of divorce, namely the married population. However, it also has some drawbacks. For example, it does not account for the duration of marriage, which may affect the probability of divorce. Moreover, it may be difficult to obtain reliable data on the number of married people in some countries, especially if there are different types of marital unions, such as cohabitation, civil partnerships, or customary marriages.
A third indicator of divorce is the divorce-to-marriage ratio, which is the number of divorces per 100 marriages in a given year. This indicator is useful to measure the relationship between the divorce rate and the marriage rate, and to assess the stability of marriages over time. However, it also has some limitations. For instance, it does not reflect the changes in the divorce rate and the marriage rate over time, as it only compares the annual figures. Furthermore, it does not consider the timing of divorce and marriage, which may differ depending on the legal and social norms of each country. For example, some countries may have a waiting period or a separation requirement before granting a divorce, while others may allow divorce by mutual consent or without any reason.
As we can see, there is no single or perfect way to measure the divorce rate, and each indicator has its own advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is important to use multiple indicators and sources of data to get a more comprehensive and accurate picture of the divorce situation in different countries and regions.
According to the latest available data from the United Nations, the crude divorce rate in 2019 was 2.3 per 1,000 population in the USA and 1.6 per 1,000 population in the UK. The refined divorce rate in 2019 was 7.6 per 1,000 married people in the USA and 8.9 per 1,000 married people in the UK. The divorce-to-marriage ratio in 2019 was 41.6 per 100 marriages in the USA and 35.1 per 100 marriages in the UK.
The data also show that the divorce rate has changed over time in different ways across the UK and the USA. For example, in the USA, the crude divorce rate peaked at 5.3 per 1,000 population in 1981, and then declined to 2.3 per 1,000 population in 2019. In contrast, in the UK, the crude divorce rate increased from 1.2 per 1,000 population in 1961 to 2.9 per 1,000 population in 1993, and then decreased to 1.6 per 1,000 population in 2019. In both countries, the divorce rate fluctuated over time, showing periods of increase and decrease.
Some of the factors that may explain the changes in the divorce rate over time are:
• The changes in the legal and social norms regarding divorce, such as the introduction or abolition of fault-based divorce, the recognition or rejection of no-fault divorce, the simplification or complication of the divorce procedures, and the acceptance or stigma of divorce in the society.
• The changes in the economic and demographic conditions that affect the marriage and divorce decisions, such as the level of income, education, employment, and urbanization, the availability and affordability of housing, health care, and child care, and the trends in fertility, mortality, and migration.
• The changes in the cultural and personal values and attitudes that influence the expectations and satisfaction of marriage, such as the degree of individualism, feminism, secularism, and liberalism, the importance of love, compatibility, and happiness, and the tolerance of conflict, infidelity, and abuse.
In conclusion, the divorce rate is a complex and dynamic phenomenon that varies across countries and regions, and over time. It is influenced by a multitude of factors that interact with each other in different ways. Therefore, it is not possible to define a normal or average divorce rate that applies to all situations and contexts. Rather, it is more meaningful to understand the specific and contextual factors that shape the divorce rate in each country and region, and to monitor the trends and patterns of divorce over time.
