US divorce rate falls to lowest levels in over three decades

The divorce rate in the US has fallen to its lowest level in 35 years, according to a new report.

A study by the National Center for Family & Marriage Research, revealed that the divorce rate has fallen by 25 per cent from 22.6 in 1980 to 16.9 in 2015.

The report represented the divorce rate “as the number of divorces per 1,000 married women aged 15 and older”.

Significant decrease

Hawaii had the lowest divorce rate at 11.1 per thousand, closely followed by Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Delaware and New Jersey. The highest divorce rate was reported in Washington, D.C. with 29 per thousand.

The US rate has now fallen for the third consecutive year.

The report also found that the marriage rate for women aged 15 or older has increased to its highest level since 2009, with 32.3 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women in 2015.

Co-Director of the National Center for Family & Marriage Research, Wendy Manning, said: “The decline has stopped.”

ONS

In England and Wales, divorce rates are also at their lowest levels for over 40 years.

The most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that there were 130,473 divorces in 2013, a three per cent decrease on the previous year.

The overall rate is at its lowest level since 1975, with 9.8 per 1,000 married men and 9.8 per 1000 married women going through a divorce.