Divorce statistics
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NUMBER DIVORCES
2023
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nUMBER OF MARRIAGES
2023
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South African Divorce Statistics
Divorce in South Africa: What the 2023 Stats Reveal About Our Changing Families published 20 March 2025.
The latest Marriages and Divorces report released by Statistics South Africa for 2023 provides a sobering yet instructive overview of the shifting dynamics of marriage and divorce in the country. With 22,230 divorces granted, an increase of 10.1% from 2022, the report reflects a society in which traditional relationship structures are undergoing steady redefinition.
As the country recovers from the residual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the data points to renewed legal activity in family law courts, a rise in female-initiated divorces, and persistent vulnerabilities—particularly for children and economically dependent spouses.
A Ten-Year High in Divorce Rates
The crude divorce rate—defined as the number of divorces per 1,000 population—rose to 2.1 in 2023, the highest level in a decade. After a dramatic drop in 2020 due to court closures and pandemic restrictions, the divorce rate has steadily rebounded. This growth, however, is not merely a return to pre-pandemic normalcy; it suggests a re-evaluation of marriage by many South Africans.
Nearly half (47.3%) of all divorces occurred within the first 10 years of marriage, with 24.1% ending before the fifth year, underscoring the fragility of early marital unions.
Who Is Getting Divorced?
Gender dynamics remain consistent with global trends:
This gendered pattern is most pronounced among women aged 30–39, where female-initiated divorces dominate. Women continue to exit marriages earlier and more frequently than men, often citing emotional, financial, or caregiving burdens.
The age distribution reflects generational pressures:
Children Caught in the Middle
One of the most concerning findings is that 56.6% of divorces involved minor children, a slight increase from previous years. This has wide-ranging implications for:
Family law practitioners must continue to ensure that divorce proceedings are approached from a child-centred perspective, as required by the Children’s Act 38 of 2005.
A Snapshot of Occupations and Unemployment
The occupational data provides insight into the economic circumstances surrounding divorce:
Notably, 17.7% of wives and 12.9% of husbands were unemployed at the time of divorce. Financial strain remains a major stressor on marital stability.
Race and Provincial Trends
In absolute numbers:
The Legal Context: Rights, Relief and Reforms
South Africa’s divorce system, governed primarily by the Divorce Act 70 of 1979, continues to function as a critical mechanism for dissolving marital bonds in a way that protects children, redistributes property, and provides equitable relief.
However, the 2023 statistics reveal structural weaknesses:
The latest Marriages and Divorces report released by Statistics South Africa for 2023 provides a sobering yet instructive overview of the shifting dynamics of marriage and divorce in the country. With 22,230 divorces granted, an increase of 10.1% from 2022, the report reflects a society in which traditional relationship structures are undergoing steady redefinition.
As the country recovers from the residual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the data points to renewed legal activity in family law courts, a rise in female-initiated divorces, and persistent vulnerabilities—particularly for children and economically dependent spouses.
A Ten-Year High in Divorce Rates
The crude divorce rate—defined as the number of divorces per 1,000 population—rose to 2.1 in 2023, the highest level in a decade. After a dramatic drop in 2020 due to court closures and pandemic restrictions, the divorce rate has steadily rebounded. This growth, however, is not merely a return to pre-pandemic normalcy; it suggests a re-evaluation of marriage by many South Africans.
Nearly half (47.3%) of all divorces occurred within the first 10 years of marriage, with 24.1% ending before the fifth year, underscoring the fragility of early marital unions.
Who Is Getting Divorced?
Gender dynamics remain consistent with global trends:
- Wives filed for divorce in 56.5% of cases, compared to 33.1% by husbands.
- In 5% of cases, both parties jointly applied for divorce.
This gendered pattern is most pronounced among women aged 30–39, where female-initiated divorces dominate. Women continue to exit marriages earlier and more frequently than men, often citing emotional, financial, or caregiving burdens.
The age distribution reflects generational pressures:
- Male divorcees peaked in the 35–44 age range.
- Female divorcees were predominantly aged 30–39, younger than their male counterparts.
Children Caught in the Middle
One of the most concerning findings is that 56.6% of divorces involved minor children, a slight increase from previous years. This has wide-ranging implications for:
- Parental responsibilities and rights,
- Contact and care disputes,
- Maintenance litigation,
- Psychological and educational support for children.
Family law practitioners must continue to ensure that divorce proceedings are approached from a child-centred perspective, as required by the Children’s Act 38 of 2005.
A Snapshot of Occupations and Unemployment
The occupational data provides insight into the economic circumstances surrounding divorce:
- Among husbands, the largest identified group were in service occupations and professional/technical roles.
- For wives, professional/technical and clerical/sales roles were most common.
Notably, 17.7% of wives and 12.9% of husbands were unemployed at the time of divorce. Financial strain remains a major stressor on marital stability.
Race and Provincial Trends
In absolute numbers:
- Black African couples accounted for the majority of divorces (12,362), but their crude divorce rate was the lowest (24 per 100,000).
- White South Africans had the highest divorce rate at 95 per 100,000, followed by Coloured (63) and Indian/Asian (57).
The Legal Context: Rights, Relief and Reforms
South Africa’s divorce system, governed primarily by the Divorce Act 70 of 1979, continues to function as a critical mechanism for dissolving marital bonds in a way that protects children, redistributes property, and provides equitable relief.
However, the 2023 statistics reveal structural weaknesses:
- Many customary marriages remain unregistered, excluding spouses (typically women) from legal protection.
- An increasing number of cohabiting couples separate without legal recourse due to the absence of marriage or a cohabitation contract.
- The high percentage of unspecified occupation and plaintiff data (over 35% in both categories) suggests a need for improved data collection.
Final Thought - The 2023 divorce statistics are not just numbers. They reflect millions of disrupted lives, restructured households, and children adapting to new realities. For family law professionals, these trends reaffirm the importance of sensitive, child-focused, and equitable legal practice.
- As South Africa continues to navigate cultural change, economic strain, and evolving social norms, the data provides both warning signs and an opportunity to advocate for legal systems that better serve modern families.
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Divorce and Marriage Statistics 2022- published on 14 March 2024
The 2022 statistical release on divorces in South Africa is based on 20,196 completed divorce forms received and processed by Stats SA, reporting divorce data for the year 2022. This number reflects an increase of 1,988 (10.9%) divorces compared to the 18,208 cases processed in 2021. The total number of divorces showed an increase from 2021 to 2022, following a decreasing trend from 2018 to 2020. Notably, 193 divorces were granted for same-sex couples in 2022. The crude divorce rate in 2022 was observed to be 33 divorces per 100,000 estimated resident population.
The South African divorce data is categorized by both population group and the year of divorce. Black African couples had the highest number of divorces in 2022, and this trend has remained consistent for the past decade (2013 to 2022). Out of the 20,196 divorces granted in 2022, 54.7% (11,048) were from the black African population group, followed by white with 19.4% (3,912), coloured with 15.7% (3,179), Indian/Asian with 4.3% (867), and mixed population groups with 2.7% (554). The population group for 636 couples was unspecified.
Moreover, the data provides information on the occupation of husbands and wives at the time of divorce. It was observed that a substantial proportion of husbands (31.9%) and wives (35.0%) did not specify their occupation. In addition, 16.3% of husbands and 21.6% of wives were not economically active or unemployed at the time of divorce. The majority of both male and female divorcees were employed in professional, semi-professional, and technical occupations, with 15.2% (3,074) and 16.8% (3,397), respectively.
According to the 2022 data, more women than men initiated divorce proceedings. Specifically, 11,277 wives (55.8%) filed for divorce compared to 6,700 husbands (33.2%), and in 1,100 cases (5.4%), both parties initiated the divorce. The sex of the plaintiff was unspecified in 1,119 cases (5.5%). The proportion of women plaintiffs varied across different population groups, with 63.2% of plaintiffs being women for the coloured population group, 58.8% for the white population group, 58.7% for the Indian/Asian population group, and 52.5% for the black African population group. In interracial couples, 56.3% of divorces were filed by wives. Among black African divorcees, about 7.2% of divorces were initiated by both partners.
The provinces with the highest number of granted divorces were Gauteng (5,778), Western Cape (3,591), KwaZulu-Natal (3,074), and Eastern Cape (1,942), which together accounted for 71.4% of all divorces granted in 2022. It should be noted, however, that this may be due in part to these provinces having larger populations.
The data shows that 51.0% of divorces in 2022 were from marriages that were solemnized by civil rites, while 40.8% were from marriages that were solemnized by religious rites. Most divorce cases from the white population group (66.8%) and coloured population group (64.7%) were from marriages solemnized by religious rites. On the other hand, the majority of divorces from the black African (69.3%) and Indian/Asian (48.6%) population groups were from marriages solemnized by civil rites.
In terms of number of times married, over 80% of divorce cases for both men and women were from first-time marriages, with only 9.0% of men and 7.7% of women getting divorced for the second time. Less than 2% of both men and women were getting divorced for at least the third time.
The median age at the time of divorce in 2022 was 46 years for males and 42 years for females, indicating that, on average, divorced males were four years older than divorced females. When analyzed by population group, both black African and white males had the highest median age at divorce (46 years), followed by coloureds (44 years) and Indian/Asians (43 years).
The difference in median ages at the time of divorce between males and females was the greatest in the black African population group, with a five-year difference. The white population group had a four-year difference, while the coloured and Indian/Asian population groups had a three-year and two-year difference, respectively. Despite variations in the ages at which most men and women from different population groups divorced, the age patterns were similar. Fewer divorces occurred among younger (under 25 years old) and older (65 years and above) divorcees. For males, the peak age group for black African was 45 to 49 years (19.8%), followed by those aged 40 to 44 years (19.7%). The peak age group for coloured and white population groups was 40 to 44 years, while for the Indian/Asian population group, it was 35 to 39 years. For females, the peak age group at divorce was 35 to 39 years for all population groups.
The data presented in the annual divorce statistics does not give a complete picture of the number of marriages that end in divorce. However, there is information on the duration of marriages that ended in divorce in 2022. The largest number of divorces [5,379 (26.6%)] were for marriages that lasted between five and nine years, followed by marriages that lasted between 10 and 14 years [4,379 (21.7%)] and marriages that lasted less than five years [3,149 (15.6%)]. Four out of ten divorces (8,528 or 42.2%) in 2022 were for marriages that lasted less than ten years.
In terms of population groups, divorces lasting between five and nine years were most common among the black African population (27.7%), followed by the coloured population (25.7%), the white population (25.3%), and the Indian/Asian population (22.1%). The white population had the highest proportion (18.2%) of divorces occurring in the first four years of marriage. Across all population groups, the proportion of divorces declined as the duration of marriage increased, with a significant drop observed after fourteen years. For marriages that did not last for 15 years or more, the Indian/Asian population group had a higher proportion of divorces than the other population groups.
In 2022, more than half of all divorces (55.3%) involved couples with children under the age of 18, while 44.7% had no children. Among white divorcees, the majority (55.8%) had no children. In comparison, divorces involving couples with children were more common among black African (59.3%) and coloured (57.3%) divorcees. The majority of children affected by divorce were from the black African population group (59.7%), followed by the white population group (14.7%), the coloured population group (16.7%), and the Indian/Asian population group (3.7%).
The 2022 statistical release on divorces in South Africa is based on 20,196 completed divorce forms received and processed by Stats SA, reporting divorce data for the year 2022. This number reflects an increase of 1,988 (10.9%) divorces compared to the 18,208 cases processed in 2021. The total number of divorces showed an increase from 2021 to 2022, following a decreasing trend from 2018 to 2020. Notably, 193 divorces were granted for same-sex couples in 2022. The crude divorce rate in 2022 was observed to be 33 divorces per 100,000 estimated resident population.
The South African divorce data is categorized by both population group and the year of divorce. Black African couples had the highest number of divorces in 2022, and this trend has remained consistent for the past decade (2013 to 2022). Out of the 20,196 divorces granted in 2022, 54.7% (11,048) were from the black African population group, followed by white with 19.4% (3,912), coloured with 15.7% (3,179), Indian/Asian with 4.3% (867), and mixed population groups with 2.7% (554). The population group for 636 couples was unspecified.
Moreover, the data provides information on the occupation of husbands and wives at the time of divorce. It was observed that a substantial proportion of husbands (31.9%) and wives (35.0%) did not specify their occupation. In addition, 16.3% of husbands and 21.6% of wives were not economically active or unemployed at the time of divorce. The majority of both male and female divorcees were employed in professional, semi-professional, and technical occupations, with 15.2% (3,074) and 16.8% (3,397), respectively.
According to the 2022 data, more women than men initiated divorce proceedings. Specifically, 11,277 wives (55.8%) filed for divorce compared to 6,700 husbands (33.2%), and in 1,100 cases (5.4%), both parties initiated the divorce. The sex of the plaintiff was unspecified in 1,119 cases (5.5%). The proportion of women plaintiffs varied across different population groups, with 63.2% of plaintiffs being women for the coloured population group, 58.8% for the white population group, 58.7% for the Indian/Asian population group, and 52.5% for the black African population group. In interracial couples, 56.3% of divorces were filed by wives. Among black African divorcees, about 7.2% of divorces were initiated by both partners.
The provinces with the highest number of granted divorces were Gauteng (5,778), Western Cape (3,591), KwaZulu-Natal (3,074), and Eastern Cape (1,942), which together accounted for 71.4% of all divorces granted in 2022. It should be noted, however, that this may be due in part to these provinces having larger populations.
The data shows that 51.0% of divorces in 2022 were from marriages that were solemnized by civil rites, while 40.8% were from marriages that were solemnized by religious rites. Most divorce cases from the white population group (66.8%) and coloured population group (64.7%) were from marriages solemnized by religious rites. On the other hand, the majority of divorces from the black African (69.3%) and Indian/Asian (48.6%) population groups were from marriages solemnized by civil rites.
In terms of number of times married, over 80% of divorce cases for both men and women were from first-time marriages, with only 9.0% of men and 7.7% of women getting divorced for the second time. Less than 2% of both men and women were getting divorced for at least the third time.
The median age at the time of divorce in 2022 was 46 years for males and 42 years for females, indicating that, on average, divorced males were four years older than divorced females. When analyzed by population group, both black African and white males had the highest median age at divorce (46 years), followed by coloureds (44 years) and Indian/Asians (43 years).
The difference in median ages at the time of divorce between males and females was the greatest in the black African population group, with a five-year difference. The white population group had a four-year difference, while the coloured and Indian/Asian population groups had a three-year and two-year difference, respectively. Despite variations in the ages at which most men and women from different population groups divorced, the age patterns were similar. Fewer divorces occurred among younger (under 25 years old) and older (65 years and above) divorcees. For males, the peak age group for black African was 45 to 49 years (19.8%), followed by those aged 40 to 44 years (19.7%). The peak age group for coloured and white population groups was 40 to 44 years, while for the Indian/Asian population group, it was 35 to 39 years. For females, the peak age group at divorce was 35 to 39 years for all population groups.
The data presented in the annual divorce statistics does not give a complete picture of the number of marriages that end in divorce. However, there is information on the duration of marriages that ended in divorce in 2022. The largest number of divorces [5,379 (26.6%)] were for marriages that lasted between five and nine years, followed by marriages that lasted between 10 and 14 years [4,379 (21.7%)] and marriages that lasted less than five years [3,149 (15.6%)]. Four out of ten divorces (8,528 or 42.2%) in 2022 were for marriages that lasted less than ten years.
In terms of population groups, divorces lasting between five and nine years were most common among the black African population (27.7%), followed by the coloured population (25.7%), the white population (25.3%), and the Indian/Asian population (22.1%). The white population had the highest proportion (18.2%) of divorces occurring in the first four years of marriage. Across all population groups, the proportion of divorces declined as the duration of marriage increased, with a significant drop observed after fourteen years. For marriages that did not last for 15 years or more, the Indian/Asian population group had a higher proportion of divorces than the other population groups.
In 2022, more than half of all divorces (55.3%) involved couples with children under the age of 18, while 44.7% had no children. Among white divorcees, the majority (55.8%) had no children. In comparison, divorces involving couples with children were more common among black African (59.3%) and coloured (57.3%) divorcees. The majority of children affected by divorce were from the black African population group (59.7%), followed by the white population group (14.7%), the coloured population group (16.7%), and the Indian/Asian population group (3.7%).
Divorce Statistics 2022 and 2021
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Below are the statistics since 2008:
| divorce_stats_2023.pdf |
| marriage_and_divorce_statistics_2022.pdf |
| divorce_stats_2021.pdf |
| divorce_stats_2020.pdf |
| divorce_stats_2019.pdf |
| divorce_stats_2018.pdf |
| divorce_statistics_2017_release.pdf |
| divorce_statistics_2016_p03072016.pdf |
| divorce statistics 2015 p03072015.pdf |
| divorce_statistics__south_africa__-_2014.pdf |
| divorce_statistics__south_africa__-_2013.pdf |
| divorce_statistics_south_africa_2012.pdf |
| divorce_statistics_south_africa_-_2011.pdf |
| divorce_statistics_south_africa_-_2010.pdf |
| divorce_statistics_south_africa_-_2009.pdf |
| divorce_statistics_south_africa_-_2008.pdf |
