Every year, hundreds of thousands of people decide to end their marriages in the United States. Moreover, millions of people tie the knot each year and many of these marital relationships will ultimately lead to divorce. Some people think that divorce has become more prevalent in recent years, while others think that fewer Americans are calling off their marriages.
In order to understand the prevalence of divorce in the U.S., it is helpful to go over statistics on this topic. However, people should not worry about the lives and decisions of others. If your marriage is not working out, you need to focus on your own circumstances and understand your legal options.
Divorce statistics in recent years
According to data that was published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 782,000 Americans decided to file for divorce or get an annulment during 2018 (this does not include data from California and four other states). During the same year, over 2.1 million people got married in the U.S. For every 1,000 people, this represents a divorce rate of 2.9. During 2000, the divorce rate was 4.0, while the rate was 3.6 in 2010 and 3.1 in 2015 (these figures do not include data from each state).
Divorce and the marriage rate
While the divorce rate has steadily declined in recent years, the marriage rate has also gone down. In 2000, the marriage rate was 8.2 per 1,000 people and it fell to 6.5 in 2018. These statistics reveal that fewer people are getting married and divorced in the United States.
