The Office for National Statistics has published annual statistics on divorces that took place in 2010 following court orders in England and Wales.

Key findings of the report include:

• the number of divorces in England and Wales in 2010 was 119,589, an increase of 4.9% since 2009, when there were 113,949 divorces,
• the divorce rate rose in 2010 to 11.1 divorcing people per thousand married population from 10.5 in 2009, and
• 22% of marriages in 1970 had ended in divorce by the 15th wedding anniversary, whereas 33% of marriages in 1995 had ended after the same period of time.

The report analyses the age at divorce for men and women in 2010. At younger ages there were more women than men divorcing; however, at older ages more men than women divorced. This pattern reflects the differences seen in age at marriage of men and women (the provisional mean age for men marrying in 2009 was 36.3 years compared with 33.7 for women). In 2010, the number of divorces was highest among men and women aged 40 to 44.

The median duration of marriage for divorces granted in 2010 was 11.4 years, unchanged from 2009, but an increase from 10.7 years in 2000

In 2010, 20% of men and 19% of women divorcing had their previous marriage end in divorce. These proportions have doubled since 1980 when the comparable figures were 10%. In 2010, 70% of divorces were to couples where both parties were in their first marriage, while the remaining 30% were to couples where at least one of the parties had been divorced or widowed.

The percentage of couples divorcing where the marriage was the first for both parties has generally declined from the early 1970s to 2010. Over the same period however, the percentage of divorces where one or both parties were previously divorced has gradually increased.