Official ONS figures show 105,002 divorces and 959 civil partnership dissolutions last year, broadly stable compared with 2023 and 2024 but well below historic peaks.
England and Wales saw 105,961 legal partnership dissolutions in 2025, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics on 23 September 2026. The total breaks down into 105,002 divorces and 959 civil partnership dissolutions — a level the ONS describes as broadly similar to both 2023 and 2024.
The divorce figure is roughly 30 per cent below the close to 150,000 annual divorces recorded during peak periods in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Of the 105,002 divorces granted in 2025, 102,879 involved opposite-sex couples and 2,123 involved same-sex couples.
The 959 civil partnership dissolutions split into 689 involving same-sex couples and 270 involving opposite-sex couples. The ONS notes that opposite-sex civil partnership dissolution data is only available from 2021, when that legal status became available to opposite-sex couples in England and Wales.
There were also 301 nullity orders in 2025.
It’s worth keeping in mind what the figures don’t capture. The ONS is clear that the statistics cover only completed legal orders — couples who separate without going through a formal divorce or dissolution process are not counted. The true number of relationship breakdowns in any given year is therefore higher than the headline total suggests.
The ONS began publishing divorce and civil partnership dissolution statistics together from the 2024 edition onwards. Civil partnership dissolution data has been available for same-sex couples since 2007.
Source: @ONS
England and Wales recorded 105,961 legal partnership dissolutions in 2025 Quiz
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