Frankfurt – The number of divorces in Germany has fallen to its lowest level in 25 years, the Federal Statistics Office reported on Tuesday.
“In 2017, there were 153,500 marriages officially dissolved by the state, 9,000 fewer than the previous year, representing an annual drop of 5.5 per cent,’’ the office reported.
The last time the annual divorce figure was lower than that was in 1992, when it was 135,000.
Contrary to the cliché of the “seven-year itch,” a large number of divorces actually occurred after six years: some 8,000 of last year’s divorces resulted from marriages made in 2011.
Couples going their separate ways after 25 years or more made up 17.5 per cent of 2017 total.
The average length of a marriage before divorce was 15 years.
There was a slight majority of wives instigating divorce proceedings, at 51.5 per cent of the total.
