Divorce rates rose by nearly 10% after the first Covid-19 lockdown, figures show. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that in 2021 there were 113,505 divorces granted in England and Wales - a 9.6% increase compared with 2020 when there were 103,592 divorces.
It is thought the number of divorces granted during 2020 may have been affected by disruption to family court activities during the pandemic. The increase in divorces granted in 2021 may partially reflect these delays as well as the impact of the pandemic on divorce applications.
Divorce lawyers said the figures could be the "tip of the iceberg" as people who decided to split during the first lockdown have now been separated for two years. According to the ONS, most divorces in 2021, some 111,934, were among opposite-sex couples, with only 1,571 (1.4%) among same-sex couples. Female couples made up 67.2% of same-sex divorces.
