The latest divorce statistics issued by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), which covers 2012, make for interesting reading. They reveal some surprising trends.
People that are more elderly are divorcing
Since the 1950s, the age at which people divorce had been steadily rising. In 1950, the average age of a man seeking a divorce was 36.6. For 2012, the average age was 44.1. For women divorcing in 1950 the median age was 33.8, in 2012 the average age at which women divorced was 41.8.
This upward trend in age is linked to the fact that people now marry for the first time at an older age. It is also in part because more people divorce several times during their life.
Add in the fact that more couples are divorcing in their 60s and you have several factors feeding into this trend for the average age of divorcees to be higher. Today, a significant percentage of family law clinic clients will be pensioners.
Fewer divorces per thousand of the population
The other surprising fact is that there are now fewer divorces per 1000 people now than there was just under 10 years ago. In 2004, the divorce level of the UK was 14 for every 1000 adult residents. Today, it is just 10.8.
Marriages are lasting longer
Since 1963, the duration of a marriage prior to divorce has been measured. In 1963, couples were on average spending 11.5 years together before filing for divorce. However, that fell steadily over the following years.
By 1985, the majority of the people seeking a divorce had only been married for 8.9 years. Yet the very next year the trend reversed and people spent longer together before divorcing. In 2012, most couples stayed together for 11.5 years before visiting a divorce clinic.