In 2022, Stats SA released the 2020 divorce data. This was based on 16 097 finished divorce forms that Stats SA received and processed. The total (16 097) suggests a drop of 7 613 (32,1%) divorces from the 23 710 cases dealt with in 2019. The overall number of divorces grew from 2011 to 2017 and dropped from 2018 to 2020. In 2020, about 127 divorces were issued for same-sex couples. The observed crude divorce rate was 27 divorces per 100 000 estimated resident population in 2020. The drop in the divorce rate can largely be attributed to the COVID pandemic at the time.
In 2020, black African husbands and wifes had the greatest number of divorces in comparison to other population groups, this pattern has been the same for the ten-year period (2011 to 2020). About 7 566 (47,0%) of the 16 097 divorces granted in 2020 were from black African population group followed by white 3 855 (23,9%), coloured 2 459 (15,3%), India/Asian 983 (6,1%) and divorces from different population groups (mixed) 484 (3,0%). The population group of 750 couples was not specified.
The crude divorce rates by population groups show that the white population group had the greatest rate of 82 per 100 000 estimated resident population then followed by the Indian/Asian and coloured population groups with 64 and 47 per 100 000 respectively. The black African population had 16 per 100 000 estimated resident population.
A high percentage of husbands (24,7%) and wives (28,1%) did not indicate the type of occupation they were engaged in at the time of divorce. In addition, 17,4% and 24,7% of husbands and wives respectively were not economically active at the time of divorce. At the same time male and female divorcees were primarily employed in professional, semi-professional and technical occupations with 2 327 (14,5%) and 2 566 (15,9%) respectively.
More wives initiated divorce
The 2020 data presented show that much more wives than husbands, 8 490 (52,7%) women in comparison to 5 505 (34,2%) men started divorce proceedings and 934 (5,8%) divorces were initiated by both husband and wife. The sex of the plaintiff was not specified in 1 168 (7,3%) cases. With the exception of women from the black African population group who had a lower proportion of plaintiffs (48,0%), the proportion of women plaintiffs from the other population groups was over 50,0%. The plaintiffs for the interracial couples reveal that 55,2% of the divorces were submitted by wives. The percentage of women plaintiffs for the white population group, Indian/Asian population group and coloured population group were 59,1%, 57,7% and 56,9% respectively. Among black African divorcees, divorce initiated by both partners constituted about 8,3%.
The provincial distribution suggests that Gauteng (4 044), KwaZulu-Natal (3 239), Western Cape (3 029) and Eastern Cape (2 234) were the provinces with the biggest number of divorces awarded. Together the four provinces attributed over three quarter (77,9%) of the divorces granted in 2020. Nonetheless, this could also be due to the fact that these provinces have the biggest populations.
The number of divorces by way of solemnisation of marriage
7 475 (46,4%) of the 2020 divorce cases were from marriages that were solemnised by religious rites and 7 095 (44,1%) by civil rites. Around 69,3% of divorces from the white population group and 66,1% of divorces from the coloured population group were from marriages that were solemnised by religious rites. Lots of divorces from the black African and Indian/Asian population groups were from marriages that were solemnised by civil rites, 63,7% and 52,8% respectively.
The number of times married
In 2020 divorce cases for both men and women were mainly from individuals who had married once. More than 80,0% of divorces for men and women were from first-time marriages in comparison to 11,7% of men and 9,8% of women from second-time marriages. Less than 2% of men and women were getting divorced for at least three times.
The age at the time of divorce
The average age at the time of divorce in 2020 were 45 years for males and 41 years for females, suggesting that commonly, divorced males were older than divorced females, with a difference of about four years. The pattern of average ages in 2020 by population group revealed that black African males and white males had the highest average age of 45 years, while the coloured and Indian/Asian population groups reported the average ages of 43 years. The difference in the average ages at the time of divorce between males and females was higher in the black African population group (four years) in comparison to the coloured, Indian/Asian and white population groups, with average age differences of three years between males and females.
Even though there were differences in the ages at which most men and women from the different population groups divorced, the age patterns were quite similar. There were fewer divorces among the the younger (less than 25 years old) and the older (65 years and older) divorcees, however divorces start peaking later, primarily at 35-39 years for black African males than for other population groups where they start peaking primarily from 30-34 years. For males, the peak age group for black African and coloured groups was 40 to 44 years whereas the peak for Indian/Asian population and white population group was 45 to 49 years. In the case of females, the peak age group at divorce was 35 to 39 years for black African, coloured, Indian/Asian and white population groups.
The duration of marriage of divorcing couples and population group
Statistics from the annual divorce data do not give a full picture of the total of marriages ending in divorce. Nonetheless, there is data on the length of marriages for divorces awarded in 2020. Statistics show that the biggest number [4 104 (25,5%)] of divorces were for marriages that made it through between five and nine years. This group is followed by marriages that endured between 10 and 14 years [3 416 (21,2%)] and marriages that endured for less than five years [2 815 (17,5%)]. Statistics showed that four in ten divorces 6 919 (43,0%) of the 16 097 in 2020 were marriages that survived for less than 10 years. Population group differences revealed that 27,1% of divorces from the black African; 24,8% from coloured, 24,0% from white and 19,5% from Indian/Asian population groups were from marriages that lasted between five and nine years. The white population had the biggest proportion (20,9%) of divorces that took place in the first four years. The proportion of divorces in all population groups decreased as the length of marriage increased, with a substantial decline being noticed after fourteen years of marriage. The proportion of divorces from the Indian/Asian population group is higher than the other population groups for marriages that did not last for 15 years and more.
For more on Marriage and Divorce Statistics in South Africa, read at the Divorce Laws Statistics Website. Article compiled by Bertus Preller a Divorce and Family Law Attorney and Mediator at Maurice Phillips Wisenberg in Cape Town.