Fewest divorces since 1979 – but fewer get married

Last year had the fewest divorces since 1979, according to figures made public by Statistics NZ.

In 2021, 6372 divorces were granted by the Family Court. That equated to a divorce rate of 6.2 divorces per estimated 1000 existing marriages, the lowest since the law changed in 1981 making it easier for couples to split. Statistics NZ populations estimates and projections manager Hamish Slack said the drop in divorces might be related to less societal pressure to marry.

Couples now lived together without marrying or got married at a later age after living together for a period of time, he said.

But the impacts of the pandemic are yet to be felt, as couples need to have been separated for at least two years before they can apply for a divorce.

Angela Fanning, a Nelson counsellor specialising in couple relationships, said she’d had an ‘‘exponential’’ increase in inquiries for couples’ counselling over the past six months, which she believed reflected the stresses of Covid-19. ‘‘It is stressing individuals, it is stressing couples, it is impacting families.’’

Nelson counsellor Mark Peart said that among other problems such as economic issues, he had seen the impacts of the vaccine mandates on couples, and with several couples he worked with, at least one partner had lost their job as a result.

Nelson lawyer Steven Zindel said financial pressure was a common factor in divorces. Those with lower incomes did not have reliable, stable housing and moved from one insecure rental to another. Zindel said he was concerned that couples who had bought housing in a low interest regime were going to be under pressure with interest rates on the rise. Breakups put even more stress on the housing stock as one household became two. Zindel said many people did not get their marriages dissolved until they wanted to remarry and many chose de facto relationships.

Slack said divorces had been generally decreasing since the early 2000s. The expectation to be married before having children had also reduced, he said.

In 2021, 51% of babies were born to married parents. This figure was 96% in 1951. Census data from 2018 showed 75% of couples were married, down from 94% in 1981.