The effect of divorce laws on divorce rates in Europe

May 22 2009

Researchers from the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona and the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom say that divorces have risen throughout Europe by an average of 30% since national divorce laws dropped the so-called 'fault requirement'.

"The divorce rate has risen significantly in the countries studied since the elimination of the fault requirement, while unilateral divorce has had little impact on divorce rates, with an annual average increase of around 0.3 to 0.4 divorces for every 1,000 people", Libertad González Luna, co-author of the study and a researcher at the Pompeu Fabra University, tells SINC

The study, which has been published in the latest issue of the journal European Economic Review, analyses divorce legislation between 1950 and 2003 in 18 European countries, including Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Greece.

According to the study, the divorce rate tripled from 2.5 to 7.3 divorces per 1,000 marriages per year between 1960 and 2000.

The research carried out into how the divorce rate has evolved in response to legal changes focused on three kinds of reforms - divorce legislation, the elimination of the fault requirement, which has enabled divorce by mutual agreement, and lastly the possibility of unilateral divorce.

Nearly all the European countries studied as part of the research currently allow unilateral divorce.

What's the situation in Spain?

Spain was one of the last European countries to legalise divorce, in 1981. Divorce was permitted without the fault requirement right from the start, as was unilateral divorce, subject to the couple's prior separation.

The Spanish divorce laws were reformed in 2005, with unilateral divorce now being allowed with far fewer requirements. "The divorce rate climbed to more than four divorces per 1,000 married couples per year in 2000", the researcher highlights.