What proportion of divorces are joint applications?

Of divorces granted under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 in 2023, 73.3% were sole applications and 26.7% were joint applications. Joint applications are more common for civil partnership dissolutions, at 46.2%.

Why did divorce numbers fall so sharply in 2022?

The law changed on 6 April 2022. New applications must wait a minimum of 20 weeks before a conditional order and 6 further weeks before a final order, so most applications made after that date could not be granted within the same calendar year.

What is the average length of a marriage that ends in divorce?

For opposite-sex couples the median duration of marriages ending in divorce was 12.7 years in 2023, and 12.9 years in 2022, the longest in the ONS time series.

Can I reuse these figures?

Yes. The underlying statistics are Crown copyright and published by ONS and the Ministry of Justice under the Open Government Licence. You are welcome to cite this page, and we ask that you link to it alongside the original source.

Divorce Data & Tools - open data

UK divorce statistics: England and Wales

A continuously maintained reference for the numbers that actually get published: divorces and civil partnership dissolutions granted, the split between sole and joint applications since the law changed in 2022, divorce rates and how long marriages last. Every figure on this page is reproduced from a named government release and linked back to it.

Last updated 15 August 2026. Latest complete reference year: 2023.

See the sources

Headline figures

Divorces granted in England and Wales, 2023

102,678

Part of 103,816 legal partnership dissolutions in 2023, a return to roughly pre-pandemic annual volumes. Civil partnership dissolutions accounted for 1,138 of the total.

Source: Office for National Statistics

Sole applications, 2023

73.3%

Of divorces granted under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, 73.3% came from a sole applicant, so roughly one in four was a joint application. Across divorces and dissolutions together the sole share was 73.1%.

Source: Office for National Statistics

Divorce rate per 1,000 married people, 2023

8.6 men / 8.5 women

Rates cover opposite-sex and same-sex couples. In 2022 the equivalent rates were 6.7 and 6.6, the lowest in the series.

Source: Office for National Statistics

Median duration of marriages ending in divorce, 2023

12.7 years

For opposite-sex couples. For same-sex couples the median was 7.2 years (male) and 6.3 years (female).

Source: Office for National Statistics

Divorces granted by year

Final orders granted in each calendar year, all couples. The 2022 dip is a timing effect of the new waiting periods rather than a fall in demand.

2021113,505 divorces, 680 dissolutions

202280,057 divorces, 525 dissolutions

2023102,678 divorces, 1,138 dissolutions

Divorces and civil partnership dissolutions granted by year
Year	Divorces granted	Dissolutions granted	Source
2021	113,505	680	Office for National Statistics
2022	80,057	525	Office for National Statistics
2023	102,678	1,138	Office for National Statistics

Sole versus joint applications

Joint applications only became possible on 6 April 2022. In 2023, roughly one in four divorces granted under the new law was made jointly.

All divorces and dissolutions73.1% sole / 26.9% joint

Divorces73.3% sole / 26.7% joint

Civil partnership dissolutions53.8% sole / 46.2% joint

Final orders granted under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, 2023. Source: Office for National Statistics

How quickly the new law took over

2022: 9.2% of divorces and 10.3% of dissolutions granted under the new legislation (source: Office for National Statistics )
2023: 74.2% of divorces and 67.9% of dissolutions granted under the new legislation (source: Office for National Statistics )

Methodology and caveats

What the numbers count

ONS annual figures count final orders granted in a calendar year, not applications made. A divorce applied for in late 2023 will usually appear in a later year because of the statutory waiting periods, so year-to-year movements reflect timing as much as behaviour.

Why 2022 looks unusually low

The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 came into force on 6 April 2022 and introduced a minimum 20-week wait before a conditional order and a further 6 weeks before a final order. Applications made after that date largely could not complete within 2022, which is why 80,057 divorces were granted, the lowest since 1971, followed by a rebound to 102,678 in 2023.

Regional and quarterly data

ONS publishes divorce data for England and Wales as a whole; sub-national breakdowns are not part of the annual bulletin, so we do not publish regional splits rather than estimate them. For volumes ahead of the annual release, use the MoJ Family Court Statistics Quarterly tables of divorce applications started and disposed of.

Rounding and revisions

Figures are reproduced exactly as published and are not rounded or rebased by us. ONS occasionally revises earlier years; where that happens we update this page and change the date at the top.

Primary sources

Divorces in England and Wales: 2023
Office for National Statistics
Divorces and civil partnership dissolutions granted, divorce rates, duration of marriage, sole and joint applications under the new law.
Divorces in England and Wales: 2022
Office for National Statistics
First year of data under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, including the 2021 comparison figures.
Family Court Statistics Quarterly
Ministry of Justice
Quarterly volumes of divorce applications started and disposed of in the family court, published ahead of the annual ONS release.
Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020
The National Archives
The statute that removed fault, introduced joint applications and set the 20-week and 6-week waiting periods.

Using this page

Journalists, researchers and advice services are welcome to quote these figures. The underlying data is Crown copyright, published under the Open Government Licence.

CalmSplit, "UK Divorce Statistics: England and Wales", updated 2026-08-15, https://calmsplit.co.uk/uk-divorce-statistics (primary data: Office for National Statistics, Divorces in England and Wales).

Press or data enquiry

Common questions about divorce statistics

In 2023 there were 102,678 divorces granted in England and Wales, alongside 1,138 civil partnership dissolutions. In 2022 there were 80,057 divorces, the lowest number since 1971, and in 2021 there were 113,505.

Behind the statistics: one of these applications could be yours

CalmSplit guides one person through the whole divorce application for England and Wales for £159, with the court fee paid separately to HMCTS. You can apply on your own or jointly.

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Written by CalmSplit Editorial TeamReviewed by Ramani GillLast reviewed 15 August 2026England & Wales

Divorce data and tools

Free, sourced references for England and Wales. Part of the CalmSplit Divorce Data & Tools hub.