Marriages, divorces and life partnerships

14 July 2022 Number of divorces down 0.7% in 2021

In 2021, approximately 142,800 married couples divorced based on judicial decision in Germany. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that the number of divorces decreased by just under 1,100, or 0.7%, compared with 2020. It had already fallen by 3.5% in the preceding year. Except for a slight increase in 2019, the number of divorces has decreased every year since 2012. Therefore, the results do not reveal any impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the number of divorces. Since couples, as a rule, have to be separated for at least a year before they can get a divorce, such effects may only manifest themselves in the long term.

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