Friday, 7 March 2025

Divorce is Going Down?

 




According to this 7 News article divorce is on the decline,

“In 2023, 48,700 divorces were granted in Australia, down 1.1 per cent from 2022, according to the latest figures available from The Australian Bureau of Statistics.

In the same year, the median duration of marriages slightly increased to 13 years, from 12.8 years in 2022.”[1]

This is good news, other research notes the same thing. In fact, divorce rates are at their lowest in the last 50 years.

“DIVORCE rates are at their lowest level since the mid-1970s, according to a new report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), drawing on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

In 2023 there were 2.3 divorces per 1,000 residents aged 16 and over, which continues the downward trend since the start of the millennium, when divorce rates were at 3.4 per 1,000 adult residents.”[2]

But it is not all good news,

“Dr Qu said the decline in divorce does not necessarily indicate longer lasting relationships than used to be the case.

“In 2023, 83 percent of couples had been living together before marriage, compared to just 16% in 1975.

“Many couples separate without entering into marriage, which is not captured in the divorce statistics,” Dr Qu said.”[3]

So, less people are getting divorced, but less people are also getting married. However, what I find interesting is that the average age of divorce is increasing. This is because the boomer generation still continue to get divorced, even later in life.

“One of the more common trends we are seeing in the legal community is a growing percentage of older couples, typically over 50, choosing to divorce – also known as grey divorce. These divorces often involve couples who have been married for several decades and may have grown-up children or grandchildren.

Grey divorcees face unique challenges, including financial implications related to retirement savings and asset division and emotional adjustments to starting a new chapter of life later in adulthood.”[4]

Older people are getting divorced in higher and higher numbers. This probably should not surprise us because the Boomer generation created the modern divorce trends we now see.

No fault divorce became prominent in the Boomer’s era,

“You could divorce simply because you wanted out of a marriage. This holds true today. Baby Boomers continue to divorce more than any other age group. In the years between 1990 and 2012, the divorce rate for people 55-64 doubled. For those older than 65, that number more than tripled.”[5]

But this is also happening because second marriages are much more likely to end in divorce,

“Worldwide statistics indicate that second marriages are more likely to dissolve than first marriages. This might be attributed to various complex factors, including previous relationship experiences, blended family challenges, and differing expectations. From our research, about 60% of second marriages end in divorce compared to 30% of first marriages, which is quite a significant jump.”[6]

People are still most likely to get divorced in their forties, “The median age at divorce has increased to 47 for men, and 44 for women.” But at the rate Boomers are getting divorced, they may push this number higher over time.

What would possess someone in their 60’s or 70’s to get divorced? Well, the Boomer generation were not called the ‘Me Generation’ for no reason. You would think that by the time you were that age you had settled all your major differences and that you were ready to invest in your children and grandchildren’s lives. But the Boomer generation continues to show us that chasing after personal pleasure is still their generation’s highest goal. It is remarkable, isn’t it.

List of References

1 comment:

  1. when there are no marriages divorce rate goes to zero

    ReplyDelete