Chapter 7 - Divorces and Dissolutions
Number of divorces
The number of divorces in 2011 was 9,862, 3 per cent (287) fewer than the 10,149 in 2010.
Figure 7.1 shows the number of divorces between 1971 and 2011. There was a marked increase in the number of divorces up to a peak of 13,365 in 1985. The early 2000s saw a slight fall from the levels recorded in the late 1980s and 1990s - perhaps because more couples are cohabiting without getting married, since divorce proceedings are not necessary to sever such relationships.
Changes to divorce legislation were introduced by the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006. The changes, which came into effect on 4 May 2006, reduced separation periods for divorce with consent to one year (previously two years) and without consent to two years (previously five years). The recent peak in 2006 (13,012 divorces, the highest figure since 1993), and the subsequent decreases in annual figures, were expected as a result of the change in legislation, because some divorces which were finalised under the new arrangements in 2006 would, under the old arrangements, have taken place in later years.
In 2011 the median duration of marriage ending in divorce was 15 years, compared with 13 years in 2001 and 11 years in 1985. Again, this change is probably due to more couples cohabiting rather than getting married, since the end of such relationships are not subject to divorce proceedings.
The information in this report covers divorces granted in Scotland, regardless of where the marriage took place.
Figure 7.1 Divorces and marriages, Scotland, 1971-2011
Dissolutions of civil partnerships
The Civil Partnership Act 2004, which came into force on 5 December 2005, allows same-sex partnerships to be dissolved in the same way that marriages can be ended by divorce.
The first dissolution in Scotland was finalised in 2007. In 2011, 44 partnerships (17 male couples and 27 female couples) were dissolved - an increase from the 34 dissolutions finalised in 2010.
More detailed statistics on divorces and dissolutions
Statistics on divorces and dissolutions in Scotland from April 2009 are now published by the Scottish Government. More detailed statistics are available from the Civil Justice section of the Scottish Government Crime and Justice Statistics website at: www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice
There are also some statistics available in the divorces and dissolutions section of the Vital Events Reference Tables at: http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/vital-events-reference-tables