7-year high for divorce rates

The number of marriages ending in divorce reached a seven-year high in England and Wales last year, the office for national statistics reported yesterday.

It said figures for divorce had been declining over recent years, largely due to social trends that caused fewer couples to get married in the first place.

But in 2002 the number of divorces increased by 2.7% to 147,735 - the highest annual total since 1996.

This took the divorce rate from 13 divorcing people per 1,000 married people in 2001 to 13.3 in 2002.

The divorce rate was highest for men aged 30-34, with 28.4 per 1,000 married men in this age group parting from their wives. Among women the divorce rate was highest in the 25-29 age group with 27.6 divorces per 1,000 married women in this age range.

The average age at which marriages ended continued to rise from 41.5 years for men and 39.1 for women in 2001 to 41.9 years for men and 39.4 for women in 2002.

This may have been partly due to a trend for people to be older when they marry, but the ONS noted that marriages ending in divorce were also lasting longer.

The average length of marriage for divorces granted in 2002 was 11.1 years, compared with 10.9 in 2001.

An ONS spokeswoman said: "The number of marriages ending in divorce has declined in recent years but that is largely down to the fact that the number of people getting married has dropped." Denise Hall, a counsellor with the advice service Relate, said: "People's expectations of marriage are enormous ... if it doesn't match up to expectations people tend to think: I might as well throw in the towel. And that is a little bit sad.

"The social and economic pressures on marriage now are also quite telling. Many couples are struggling under huge debts and mortgages. Added to this we work the longest hours in Europe."