UK divorce statistics 2026

There were 105,002 divorces in England and Wales in 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics, similar to 2023 and 2024. Opposite-sex marriages that ended in divorce had lasted a median of 13.0 years, the longest since records began in 1963. Under the current law, 74.3% of divorces came from one partner applying alone.

How many divorces are there each year?

There were 105,961 legal endings of marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales in 2025. That’s 105,002 divorces (102,879 between opposite-sex couples and 2,123 between same-sex couples) and 959 civil partnership dissolutions (ONS). The figures include 301 annulments.

The numbers have been fairly steady for a decade, at around 100,000 a year. That’s well below the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, when there were around 150,000 divorces a year. The ONS says the low figure in 2022 may partly reflect the new law introduced that April, with its minimum 20-week waiting period.

What is the divorce rate?

In 2025 there were 8.4 divorces for every 1,000 opposite-sex married people, similar to 2023 and 2024 and well below the peak of 14.2 per 1,000 in 1993. For same-sex marriages the rate was 19.5 per 1,000. The ONS notes that same-sex figures are less certain, because same-sex married people make up less than 1% of adults and so are a small part of the survey the rates are based on.

How long do marriages last before divorce?

The median opposite-sex marriage ending in divorce in 2025 had lasted 13.0 years, the longest on record and up from a low of 8.9 years in 1985. For same-sex marriages the median was 7.5 years for male couples and 6.6 years for female couples, which the ONS expects to be shorter because same-sex marriage only became possible in March 2014.

What share of marriages end in divorce?

Fewer recent marriages are ending in divorce early on. The ONS estimates that 16.3% of couples who married in 2015 had divorced before their 10th anniversary, compared with 24.7% of couples who married in 1995 and 9.9% of those who married in 1965. Over 20 years, 38.1% of couples married in 1995 had divorced, and 35.3% of those married in 2005.

Who applies for divorce?

Since April 2022, couples can apply for a divorce together. Most still don’t. In 2025, 74.3% of divorces granted under the current law came from sole applications; including civil partnerships, the figure was 74.1%. Among opposite-sex couples applying alone, 61.2% of applicants were women and 35.6% were men, with the rest not recorded (ONS).

The court figures tell the same story. Of the 26,834 divorce applications made in April to June 2026, 73% were sole and 27% joint (Ministry of Justice).

How many people are applying for divorce now?

The Ministry of Justice counts divorce applications every quarter, which gives an earlier picture than the yearly ONS figures. There were 110,638 applications in 2025, almost exactly the same as the 110,610 in 2024. In April to June 2026 there were 26,834, down 3% on the same quarter a year earlier, and 25,550 final orders were made.

How long does a divorce take?

In April to June 2026, the median time from application to conditional order was 28 weeks, and to final order 40 weeks. The legal minimum is 26 weeks and 1 day. Our family court waiting times tracker has the trend and the figures for money and children cases, and our divorce timeline calculator works out the dates for you.

How many divorces involve court cases about money or children?

Most don’t. In April to June 2026 there were 12,369 applications for financial orders, and 72% of them were uncontested, meaning the couple had agreed and wanted it approved. In the same quarter, 14,833 private law cases about children started, up 11% on a year earlier (Ministry of Justice).

The Fair Shares study, which surveyed more than 2,400 divorcees, found that only about a third of couples formalised their finances with a court order, and one in ten went to court over money. The median couple had total assets, including their home and pensions and after debts, of £135,000. Only one in ten divorcees with a pension not yet being paid had agreed to share it (University of Bristol, Fair Shares 2023).

What about Scotland and Northern Ireland?

The figures above are for England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own divorce laws and count divorces separately, over different periods, so they can’t be added together for a single UK total.

• Scotland: 7,488 divorces were granted in 2022-23, the latest year published. The Scottish Government has paused its 2023-24 civil justice statistics (Scottish Government).
• Northern Ireland: 2,138 divorces were registered in 2023, the latest finalised figure from NISRA, the Northern Ireland statistics agency. Its 2024 report is under review (NISRA).

When are these figures updated?

The Ministry of Justice publishes court figures every quarter. The next release, covering July to September 2026, is due on 17 December 2026. The ONS publishes divorce figures for England and Wales once a year; it hasn’t yet set a date for the next release. We update this page when each one comes out.

Common questions

Sources

1. Office for National Statistics, Divorces and dissolutions in England and Wales: 2024 and 2025 (released 23 September 2026)
2. Ministry of Justice, Family Court Statistics Quarterly: April to June 2026 (published 24 September 2026)
3. Ministry of Justice, Family Court Statistics Quarterly tables, April to June 2026 (Tables 12, 12b and 14)
4. University of Bristol and Nuffield Foundation, Fair Shares report (2023)
5. Scottish Government, Civil justice statistics in Scotland 2022-23 (published 30 April 2024)
6. NISRA, Registrar General Annual Report: Divorces (2023 tables, released 6 February 2025)

Keep reading

This page is general information about divorce, not legal or financial advice. Official figures are revised from time to time, so check the sources above and speak to a qualified professional about your situation. Facts checked 20 October 2026.