The Divorce Capital of the UK in 2023

It’s hard to ignore the high number of celebrity divorces hitting the headlines throughout 2023, but it’s not just LA where divorces seem to be on trend, the UK is no stranger to divorces either. Family law experts are being kept busy in the UK but which region comes out top as the divorce capital?

The UK’s divorce capital

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Norwich comes out top when it comes to divorce rates. With 12.8% of marriages ending in divorce, the birthplace of Alan Partridge and Colman’s Mustard comes out top for couples saying ‘I don’t’ to marriage.

Birmingham

Birmingham also counts as a divorce hotspot in the UK. According to the 2021 Census, 9,325 couples from Brimingham aged from 55 – 59 were divorced or previously in a civil partnership. The city also topped the list for those aged between 50-54 years and those between 60 – 4 years of age. Despite this, the rate of divorces is only 7.25% – almost half the rate of Norwich.

Other UK divorce hotspots

After Birmingham is Leeds. With 8,400 divorces registered for those in Leeds aged between 55 – 59 years old, the number of people officially divorced is second only to Birmingham. London has previously been hailed the divorce capital, especially for wealthy couples as the UK court system is often favourable to financially weaker parties. The London Evening Standard also points to Lincoln, Eastborne, Torbay and Plymouth as UK divorce hotspots with the average divorce rate of just over 11%.

UK divorce statistics

According to government statistics, there were 28,865 divorce applications made between January to March 2023 in the UK. This represented a 5% drop compared to the same period in 2022. Interestingly, the number of final orders (an order made once the divorce is officially complete) made in the first quarter of 2023 showed an increase compared to the previous years.

What has caused the increase?

The figures seem to suggest that although fewer couples may be seeking a divorce in the UK, more people are being successful in seeing them through to completion. One of the reasons could be the introduction of the new divorce laws brought in in April 2022. Although data is still not finalised, it seems the new, and arguably less acrimonious route to divorcing through the new laws are making the process to completion simpler.

What do the no-fault laws mean?

The new no-fault laws introduce a number of different protocols for divorces in England and Wales. Fundamentally, they allow spouses and civil partners to get a divorce without having to prove fault. Prior to the introduction of these new rules, one of the spouses had to identify clear grounds for their divorce. For example, they would have to state whether or not there had been adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion, separation for two years or separation for five years. Now that the reasons for a divorce do not have to be stipulated, divorces the process is arguably simpler and divorces are perceived as easier to obtain with less conflict involved.

In summary

Norwich comes out top when it comes to the highest divorce rate in the UK. When it comes to the number of divorces, Birmingham takes a clear lead but the rate of divorces is much lower than Norwich. The new divorce laws are likely to demonstrate their impact with the passage of more time and whether or not that will give rise to a new divorce capital in the UK remains to be seen.