| (2000 except where noted) | |
| Marriage & Divorce: | |
| Total divorces granted in 1997: | 1,163,000 |
| Rate per 1,000 population (1999): (excluding CA, CO, IN and LA) |
4.1 |
| State with the lowest divorce rate: (1997) Massachusetts. Rate per 1,000 population : | 2.4 |
| State with the higest divorce rate: Nevada. Rate per 1,000 populatio n: (1997) | 9.0 |
| Current number of divorced adults (1998): | 19,400,000 (9.8%) |
| Median age at divorce: (1997) | Males: 35.6 Females: 33.2 |
| Median duration of marriage: (1997) | 7.2 years |
| Likelihood of new marriages ending in divorce in 1997: | 43% |
| Percentage of marriages that break up within first 15 years in 1995: | 43% |
| Percentage of all householders who are unmarried: | 48% |
| Percentage of weddings which are remarriages for at least one partner in 1997: | 43% |
| Percentage of first marriages that end in divorce in 1997: | 50% |
| Percentage of remarriages that end in divorce in 1997: | 60% |
| Percentage of divorced women who remarry within five years as of 1995: | 54% |
| Estimated average length of divorce proceedings in 1997: | 1 year |
| Adults married and living with one another in 1998: | 110.6 million (56%) |
| Adults between 25 and 34 years old never married in 1998: | 14 million (35%) |
| Percentage of African American adults in this age group never married in 1998: | 53% |
| Percentage of households occupied by one person: | 25.5% |
| Percentage of population (by area of US) who had never married in 1999: |
Midwest: 28% Northeast: 28% South: 26% West: 29% |
| People (by gender) 15 years of age and over who have never married: | Males: 32,253,000 (31.3% of men) Females: 27,763,000 (25.1% of women) |
| Number of married couples: | 56,497,000 |
| Number of married people whose spouses are absent: | Males: 1,365,000 (1.3%) Females: 1,365,000 (1.2%) |
| People who have been widowed: | Males: 2,604,000 (2.5%) Females:11,061,000 (10%) |
| People who are divorced: | Males: 8,572,000 (8.3%) Females: 11,309,000 (10.2%) |
| People who are separated: | Males: 1,818,000 (1.8%) Females: 2,661,000 (2.4%) |
| Median age at first marriage: | Males: 26.8 Females: 25.1 |
| Average age at first divorce in 1997: | Males: 35 Females: 33 |
| Average age of those divorcing from their second marriages in 1997: | Males: 42 Females: 39 |
| Average age of marriage in 1997: | Males: 28.7 Females: 25.9 |
| Percentage of people that married under the age of 20 who eventually get divorced as of 1995: | 40% |
| Percentage of people that married over the age of 25 who eventually get divorced as of 1995: | 24% |
| Percentage of couples not affiliated with any religious group who eventually get divorced as of 1995: | 46% |
| Percentage of women whose parents were divorced who get divorced within 10 years as of 1995: | 43% |
| Percentage of women whose parents stayed together who get divorced within 10 years as of 1995: | 29% |
| Interracial married couples: | 1,047,000 |
| Number of cohabiting couples: | 3.8 million |
| Percentage of women who cohabited before they turned 30 in 1995: | 50% |
| Percentage of couples living together for more than five years who eventually marry as of 1995: | 70% |
| Number of people divorcing each year as of 1997: | 2.5 million |
| Average length of first marriages which end in divorce in 1997: | 11 years |
| Drop in standard of living of females after divorce: | 45% |
| Number of women who are stalked by a husband or ex-husband every year as of 1997: | 380,000 |
| Number of men who are stalked by a wife or ex-wife every year as of 1997: | 52,000 |
| Click here for a state-by-state ranking of divorce rates. | |
| Children/Single parents: | |
| Number of children in new divorces each year as of 1997: | 1 million |
| Percentage of parents who had never married in 1998: | Males: 35% Females: 42% |
| Percentage of households which are family households: | 68.8% |
| Percentage of households with their own children under 18: | 33% |
| Percentage of married householders with kids: | 24% |
| Percentage of family households with children with only one parent in 1998: | 27% |
| Percentage of all households run by single moms: | 9.2% |
| Percentage of all households run by single dads: | 1.9% |
| Number of adults living in a home maintained by one or both parents in 1998: | 22 million |
| Number of single parents: | Males: 2.04 million Females: 9.68 million |
| Estimated number of children involved in divorce in 1997: | 1,075,000 |
| Rate per 1,000 population children under 18 involved in divorce in 1997: | 16.8 |
| Children under 18 years of age living with just one parent in 1998: | 20 million (28%) |
| Percentage of children in single-parent homes living with their mother in 1998: | 84% |
| Percentage of children living with single parents for whom no other adults were present in the household in 1998: | 56% |
| Children under 18 living in the household of their grandparents in 1998: | 4 million (6%) |
| Total families in which the child lived with two parents in 1997: | 25.6 million |
| Total single fathers maintaining their own household: | 1.786 million |
| Total single fathers living in the home of a relative: | 240,000 |
| Total single fathers who are divorced: | 913,000 |
| Total single fathers never married: | 693,000 |
| Total single fathers who were separated in 1997: | 260,000 |
| Total single fathers raising one child: | 1,300,000 |
| Total single fathers raising four or more children: | 55,000 |
| Total single mothers maintaining their own household: | 7.571 million |
| Total single mothers living in the home of a relative: | 1.633 million |
| Total single mothers who are divorced: | 3.392 million |
| Total single mothers never married: | 4.181 million |
| Total single mothers raising one child: | 5.239 million |
| Total single mothers raising four or more children: | 475,000 |
| Percentage of children (by race) living in two-parent households in 1998: | White: 74% Black: 36% Hispanic: 64% |
| Percentage of children living with one parent who lived with a divorced parent in 1997: | 38% |
| Percentage of children living with one parent who lived with a never-married parent in 1997: | 35% |
| Percentage of children living with one parent who lived with a separated parent in 1997: | 19% |
| Percentage of children living with one parent who lived with a widowed parent in 1997: | 4% |
| Percentage of children living with one parent whose spouse lived elsewhere because of business or some other reason in 1997: | 4% |
| Percentage of children in two-parent households whose parents were college graduates in 1998: | 29% |
| Percentage of children in single-parent households whose parents were college graduates in 1998: | 9% |
| Percentage of children with single parents (by gender) earning under $12,500 in 1998: | Living with fathers: 17% Living with mothers: 41% |
| Single-parent children living in metropolitan areas in 1997: | 14.5 million |
| Single-parent children living in cities with populations of 1 million or more in 1997: | 9.2 million |
| Percentage of births which were to unmarried women in 1997: | 32% |
| Percentage of same-sex female householders with kids in 1998: | 17% |
| Percentage of women with kids before marriage who were divorced within 10 years as of 1995: | 50% |
| For US Census Bureau data on child support for custodial parents, please click here. | |
| In 1996, children of divorce were 50% more likely than their counterparts from intact families to divorce. | |
| In 19 states reporting custody in 1997: 72% of custody were awarded to the wife, 9% were awarded to the husband. In 16% joint custody was awarded. Parents who are awarded and receive child support have higher incomes. | |
| Fatherless homes account for 63% of youth suicides, 90% of homeless/runaway children, 85% of children with behavior problems, 71% of high school dropouts, 85% of youths in prison, well over 50% of teen mothers. | |
| Miscellaneous: | |
| Married women earning at least $5,000 a year more than their husbands: | 8.408 million (14.9% of all married women) |
| Unmarried women earning at least $5,000 a year more than their partners: | 821,000 (21.5% of unmarried couples) |
| Married men earning at least $5,000 a year more than their wives: | 33.228 million (58.8% of all married men) |
| Unmarried men earning at least $5,000 a year more than their partners: | 2.099 million (54.9% of unmarried couples) |
| Married couples in which only the husband is employed: | 12.642 million (22.4%) |
| Married couples in which only the wife is employed: | 3.855 million (6.8%) |
| Married couples in which both partners are employed: | 30.212 million (53.5%) |
| Unmarried couples in which only the male is employed: | 695,000 (18.2%) |
| Unmarried couples in which only the female is employed: | 410,000 (10.7%) |
| Unmarried couples in which both partners are employed: | 2.484 million (65%) |
| Percentage of smokers who had been divorced in 1997: | 49% |
| Percentage of nonsmokers who had been divorced in 1997: | 32% |
| Percentage of divorces due to economic problems in 1997: | 4.2% |
| Percentage of divorces due to irreconcilable differences in 1997: | 80% |
| (Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Health Statistics, Americans for Divorce Reform, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Institute for Equality in Marriage, American Association for Single People, Ameristat, Public Agenda) | |
A few statistics on divorce in the US
by JH 9 Replies latest jw friends
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JH
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Maverick
What a list of failure! Are we that clueless about how to make a marriage work? Dear Abby had a poll on marriage, 80% of the women said they would not have married the same person if they could do it over and 25% said they did not love the guy when they got married! Maverick
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Joker10
JW's divorce rate is of 6% in the U.S.
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freedom96
One problem with statistics is that you can usually slant them any way you want.
Previous post said 6 % divorce rate among witnesses. Wow, that sounds great. However, compared to what?
I would like to know the statistics of marriages that stay together that go to church at least once or twice a week, and have same basic religious values.
I bet they are low too.
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Jayson
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Family/BG1421.cfm
Interesting ideals for government. So much money is spent after the marriage falls apart or discourages it all together. As to statistics most that make marriage a dark death sentence exclude marriages that already exist. There are some 80 million with 2 million more every year. There are some 1 million divorces. (Off the top of my head) so choose either 50% end in divorce or the divorce rate is like 2%. It depends on what you want to prove.
JW's divorce rate is of 6% in the U.S.
I'd like to know how many JW marriages are 2nd marriages. And define a JW marriage/divorce. 3 JW's in my in law family are byproducts of failed marriages. 2 were witness to witness.
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Odrade
6%!!! I know of LOTS of divorces. Way more than 6% of my acquaintances. Maybe more like 25%. Where is that figure from? Is it propaganda? (Not propaganda from you of course J, but it seems like a fallacious figure to me.)
Odrade
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lisaBObeesa
JW's divorce rate is of 6% in the U.S.
What is the rate when you figure in all the JWs like my brother and his wife who are separated (have been for years), but are not 'free' to divorce? -LisaBObeesa
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jgnat
Divorce rate of 6% is not so hot. If it means the same thing as on the Divorce site that JH found. The divorce rate on that site for all of the US is 4.1%. That is, divorces per 1000 population, not marriages. If that is what 6% means, then the WTS does not have such a stellar record. I am still trying to dig up a research paper that commented that the divorce rate for Jehovah's Witnesses is comparable to the regular population. That in itself is staggering, considering that, doctrinally speaking, they are opposed to divorce. How many couples are staying together for appearance?
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Simon
Our old KH (in the UK) had lots of couples who had split up, or were on second and third marriages. I don't believe they have a lower divorce rate although of course they often claim ir repeatedly.
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Balsam
Well I am one of the divorce statics, and so my ex-husband who still an active JW. I felt divorce was lower than the general public. But there was 3 sisters who lived apart from their husband, separated but not divorced. Then there were the couples who had separate bedrooms and lived as brother and sister so to speak, but continued the marriage because they believed they had too.
Frankly I think that they would have all been better off divorced and have a chance at a better life with someone else.
In the statics though it showed that divorce is higher in second marriage. So in general people just have a hard time making it being married don't they.
I am in my second marriage, and my new husband in his third, but both of us fit together mentally and physically like hand and glove. We like each other company, and talk and talk. No silent times for us, like we had in our previous marriages.
Balsam