Divorce is common and is many people opt to get a divorce in several places around the world, but what exactly is the divorce rate by country on a global scale? Marriage has been around longer than we can imagine and we can assume that marriage can change slowly with different traditions and perceptions that have existed.
Marriage is an event that ties a couple together for life, creating various connections between them that impact their day-to-day lives. A lot of people want a married life for many reasons including the quality of the relationship, building a family, lifetime companionship, financial stability, and many more.
However, the bonds in a marriage can also break. A marriage may break down due to many factors like loss of intimacy, domestic and drug abuse, lack of commitment, and internal and external factors. Divorce happens all over the world and the divorce rate by country will be discussed further in this article.
Divorce Rate By Country: Australia’s Statistics
Back in the 1960s, social change began to affect attitudes on marriage, but divorce was still hard to obtain. After the introduction of the Family Law Act 1975, divorce rates rose drastically and allowed no-fault divorce in Australia since January 1976.
There’s more than what meets the eye when seeing or knowing a couple in a committed relationship. Given below are figures from the latest statistics report published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS),
- 65 percent of men are more likely to be in a committed relationship
- 56 percent of women are more likely to stay in a non-committed relationship
- 29 percent of women are not married
- 8 percent of women are to be divorced
- 4 percent are widowed
- 3 percent are separated
Due to the young age of people in Generation Z (people born between 1997-2012), they are the most likely to have already been married. However, this is not the case for the older folks.
- 69 percent of millennials are more likely to be married or partnered; whereas
- 15 percent of baby boomers (people born between 1946-1964) are more likely to be divorced
There has been a significant shift in social norms towards marriages in Australia. In their mainstream society, almost a total decline in the social stigma of “living-in sin” has been observed, so couples tend to regularly live together and opt for co-parenting even outside a marriage.
People in a de facto relationship have been able to have the same access to property rights as those enjoyed by married couples, along with similar benefits, so it’s no surprise that there’s less pressure on couples to get married.
Countries With The Most Divorce Rates
World organisations track the global divorce rate by country every year. According to the United Nations’ data, marriage and divorce statistics change significantly due to several reasons, and this has caused marriage rates to plummet each year. Below are the countries that have the most divorces:
Maldives – 5.52 divorces per 1000 people
In 2020, Maldives ranked the highest in divorce rate by country, but why so? A common explanation is that its citizens dislike physical relations outside of marriage. Both marriages and divorces are easy to obtain in the country, so they marry quickly and opt for a divorce since there are minimal consequences and complications.
Russia – 4.2 divorces per 1000 people
With a whopping population of more than 146 million people, one-third of Russians get divorced because they are living in poverty and the second common reason is the lack of mutual understanding between partners.
Guam – 4.2 divorces per 1000 people
Due to its alarming divorce rates, catholic churches have decided to improve their efforts in keeping marriages intact.
Moldova – 3.7 divorces per 100 people
Moldova’s divorce rate has risen significantly throughout the last few years. According to statistics, the number of children has diminished and couples wanting to form families are also declining. The divorce rate is also 50 percent of all marriages in the country.
Belarus – 3.4 divorces per 100 people
Belarus has been coined “the land of broken marriages” because of its high divorce rate. Money matters have been one of the reasons for its high divorce rate due to the unstable economy. While it did affect several marital choices of Belarusians, many of their women have chosen to marry foreigners outside the country.
Latvia – 3.1 divorces per 1000 people
Shares of single-parent families have risen and more couples opting to not have kids may have been a reason for the high divorce rate in the country. There is no solid explanation for the high numbers, but it may be due to marriage instabilities and Latvians wanting to marry when they’re older.
How The Covid-19 Pandemic Affected The Divorce Rate By Country
The Covid-19 pandemic has also contributed a significant strain on relationships and couples had to face unlikely outcomes as a result. This pandemic took a toll on the work-life balance of several couples around the world and has been going on, especially in third-world countries. Gaps in childcare, the passing of loved ones, and isolation have also been key factors in affecting the divorce rate by country.
Let’s face it; couples will be stressed out at some point in their lives, especially in these trying times and who knows when numbers will affect the divorce rate by country. Relationship experts also believe that couples who are strong and well-off were susceptible to break-ups. This is because there was a drastic change in established routines in their relationships such as comfort and stability.
Importance Of Seeking Legal Advice
Knowing the divorce rate by country is a lot to take in, especially when you’re experiencing one. Divorce poses a lot of financial problems and not to mention the amount of paperwork and mental stress that one has to go through.
At JB Solicitors we have a solid team of family law experts who handle many divorce and family law cases, and who can offer legal advice in your language. Our services have fixed-fee prices to give you a clear sense of the costs involved.
Reach out to JB Solicitors today
