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Statistical Information on Divorce
and its
effects
(2000 except where noted)
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 population:
(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 b(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
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%
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:
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)
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