Divorce Statistics

Divorce statistics reveal that divorce is becoming fairly commonplace in the United States.

Divorce in the United States

Consider the following statistics from Divorce Magazine:

In the United States, 49% of marriages end in divorce.
Although 82% of all married couples will reach their fifth wedding anniversary, only 52% will celebrate 15 years of marriage.
The median duration of first marriages that end in divorce is slightly less than eight years.
Most people will wait about three years after a divorce to remarry.
Most divorce proceedings will take approximately one year to complete.

World Divorce Statistics

In case you were wondering, divorce rates do vary substantially in different countries. Check out these world divorce statistics:

In Sweden, 64% of marriages end in divorce.
In Canada, 45% of marriages end in divorce
In France, 43% of marriages end in divorce.
In Israel, 26% of marriages end in divorce.
In Greece, 18% of marriages end in divorce.
In Italy, 12% of marriages end in divorce.

The Economic Impact of Divorce

If you review current divorce statistics, some of the most shocking facts relate to the economic impact of divorce. While it's not uncommon for a father's standard of living to rise after a divorce, the end of marriage often leaves women and children in poverty. Consider the following divorce statistics:

Divorced women with children are four times more likely than married women to have an income that is under the poverty line.
A single mom is nine times more likely than a married woman to have an income that is less than half the official poverty line.
Although 10% of families in the U.S. are headed by a woman, 40% of poor families have a female head of household.

Of course, divorce also results in a higher cost to society as a whole. According to one study, a single divorce can cost state and federal governments more than $30,000 in court fees, increased bankruptcies, food stamps, and public housing benefits.

Children and Divorce

The effects of divorce on children have been widely studied. Consider the following divorce statistics related to children:

The number of children living with both parents decreased from 85% to 68% between 1970 and 1996.
About half of all children will witness the breakup of a parent's marriage. Of these kids, nearly half will also witness a parent's second divorce.
Children who are raised in single-parent homes are less likely to marry and more likely to divorce.
Teen girls from single parent homes are twice as likely to drop out of high school or give birth to an out-of-wedlock child.

Preventing Divorce

According to Barbara Whitehead and David Popenoe's The State of Our Unions, the following factors help reduce a person's risk of getting divorced:

If you have an annual income of over $50,000, your risk of divorce decreases by 30%.
If you wait to marry until you're over 25 years of age, your risk of divorce decreases by 24%.
If your parents are happily married, your risk of divorce decreases by 14%.
If you have strong religious beliefs, your risk of divorce decreases by 14%.
If you've attended college, your risk of divorce decreases by 13%.