How many South Africans are getting divorced

Statistics South Africa has released its latest marriage and divorce data, highlighting an increase in the number of South Africans getting divorced.

The report which reflects registry data from 2015, found that there were a total of 138,627 civil marriages, 3,467 customary marriages and 1,185 civil unions registered over the 365 day period.

A comparison with the 2014 data shows that registration of civil marriages dropped by 8.1% but that of customary marriages and civil unions increased by 13.2% and 3.6% respectively.

Since 2003, the average age of marriage has stayed relatively consistent with the average age of a bridegroom increasing by a year from 33 years in 2014 to 34 years in 2015, while the median age for brides has remained unchanged at 30 years.

By comparison, regarding all civil unions, the median age for spouse-1 remained at 36 years whereas that of spouse-2 increased by a year from 33 years in 2014 to 34 years.

For all customary marriages, the median age for bridegrooms remained the same at 34 years, but there was a decrease of one year from 29 years in 2014 to 28 years in 2015 for brides.

Divorce

Unsurprisingly given the increasing number of civil unions, marriages and customary marriages, there has also been an increase in the number of divorces across the country.

In 2015, 25,260 completed divorce forms were processed indicating an increase of 2.3% from the 24,689 processed in 2014. The majority of these divorces were instituted by female plaintiffs.

The average age of divorce is 44 years for men and 40 years for women – highlighting the fact that 45.4% of the 2015 divorces came from marriages that did not reach their tenth wedding anniversary.

Although there were differences in the ages at which most men and women from the various population groups divorced, the age patterns were quite similar. The data reveal that there were fewer divorces among the younger (less than 25 years old) and the older (65 years and older) divorcees.

In 2015, there were 14,045 (55.6%) divorces with children aged less than 18 years affected.

Divorce by population group

Divorce by occupation

Duration of divorce 

Unlike in census and survey data, registered marriages and divorces data are based on the continuous recording of these events as they take place. However not all marriages are registered marriages in South Africa, as some are not recognised by law.

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