15 Countries with the Highest Divorce Rates in the World in 2017

If you want to learn about the 15 countries with the highest divorce rates in the world in 2017, then you have come to the right place.

If you are thinking about tying the knot, then this article might discourage you, but please don’t let the numbers scare you. Marriage is an essential part of life, but it is also true that life is not easy. When it comes to stable marriages, Asian countries tend to have the upper hand, for example, the country with lowest divorce rate in our findings was Sri Lanka. The highest divorce rate in Asia is about 42%, which is the case in Kuwait. In contrast, the divorce rate in Belgium is 61%, and the divorce rate in Italy is 44%. So if you are looking for the answer to which country has the highest divorce rate in the world, then keep reading and you’ll find out.

This list is going to focus on the most recent divorces rates, but if you would like to take a look at how things were back in 2015, you should check out 11 Countries With the Highest Divorce Rates in the World. However, thinking about the merits of marriage just based on the divorce rate would not be fair, so do keep an open mind while going through the list. There are many factors that contribute to a dysfunctional marriage; take professions for example. Yes, what you do for a living can definitely contribute towards a divorce, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Just take a look at the 11 Professions with the Highest Divorce Rates, and you will understand what we are talking about.

It is always better to get rid of a dysfunctional relationship than to continue it, but the repercussions can be severe, both financially and emotionally. This is especially true if there are children involved. But, such is life and we have to make the best of what we have been given. Did you know that Maldives holds the world record for the highest divorce rate ever? Well, it happened back in 2002, but the record still stands. Quite ironic don’t you think? Who would have guessed that a popular venue for honeymoons would hold such a world record. For our research, once again we went looking for statistics online, and we found a lot of data. We used sources like the United Nations Statistical Division (UNSTAT) for their report, and also Eurostat. Then we went ahead and put Google’s trusty search engine through its paces for additional information on the topic.

For ranking, we used the divorce to marriage ratio which is basically the ratio of crude marriages rate (number of marriages per 1,000 people in a year) and crude divorce rate (number of divorces per 1,000 people in a year) in a given geographic area. In this case we focused on countries. The higher this ratio goes, the higher a country has been placed on the list. So basically we will start off with countries where the divorce to marriage ratio is the lowest and work our way upwards from there. Once we get to the list phase of this article, you will get the idea. Since we are done with the methodology, there’s just only one thing to do, which is to check out the rankings, so let’s start off our list of 15 countries with the highest divorce rates in the world in 2017.

15. Italy

Divorce to marriage ratio: 44%

Starting off our list is Italy with a divorce to marriage ratio of 44% per 1,000 people, which is definitely quite high. This means that 44% of all the marriages that took place per 1,000 people in Italy ended in a divorce. This rate is certainly high enough to put Italy on our list, but it’s not the worst.

The following two countries share the 13th place on our list of countries with the highest divorce rates in the world in 2017.

13.  Belarus

Divorce to marriage ratio: 45%

Belarus takes the 14th spot in our list of countries with the highest divorce rates in the world in 2017 by just one percent. Well, whether being a part of this list is a good thing or a bad thing, that depends entirely on interpretation. Many argue that the high rate of divorce is evidence of female empowerment, and others say high divorce rate is not good for society and people living in such a society in general. Regardless, Belarus is our entry number fourteen.

13. Hungary

Divorce to marriage ratio: 45%

Hungary shares the same divorce to marriage ratio as Belarus, so basically these two spots can be swapped. But, due to the data being most up to date in the case of Hungary, we decided to put Hungary ahead of Belarus. As you can see, about 45% of marriages ended in a divorce in Hungary per 1,000 people which is really a terrifying ratio. But do understand that, we are not talking about per 1,000 marriages here, rather the rough number of marriages that takes place for every 1,000 people.

12. The United States

Divorce to marriage ratio: 46%

The United States did make the list of countries with the highest divorce rates in the world in 2017, but surprisingly not at the top half of it. Given the number of divorces happening, one could think that the Untied States would rank even higher on the list. But as it would appear, the United States only got the twelfth place based on the data we managed to dig up.

11. Sweden

Divorce to marriage ratio: 47%

Sweden has a divorce to marriage ratio of 47%. One thing’s for sure and that’s the fact that it is not that difficult to get a divorce in Sweden. Form what we found, it is very cheap to get a divorce in Sweden and if you are eligible for a divorce there, you do not even have to visit a courthouse to carryout the process.

10. Estonia

Divorce to marriage ratio: 50%

Pretty much half the marriages that take place in Estonia end up in a divorce, or at least that is what our data indicates. This northern European country is the first country with a divorce rate of 50%. Since we are barely starting our list of countries with the highest divorce rates in the world in 2017, things can only get worse from here on. If you are in Estonia and thinking about tying the knot, there’s a very high possibility of a divorce.

9. Russia

Divorce to marriage ratio: 52%

Apparently, Russians have managed to beat United States in divorce to marriage ratios and not just by a width of a hair, but rather 6%. How to react to this fact is entirely up to you and your interpretation of a divorce and its impact on society.

8. Netherlands

Divorce to marriage ratio: 53%

We are halfway through our list of 15 countries with the highest divorce rates in the world in 2017 and at number 8 we have Netherlands. It is quite ironic that one of the world’s favorite honeymoon spots in Europe is Amsterdam, the capital of Netherlands.

7. Czech Republic

Divorce to marriage ratio: 54%

Czech Republic comes in at number 7 for its divorce to marriage ratio of 54%. It is rather peculiar that the divorce cases in Czech Republic are treated as civil law suits, with a defendant and a plaintiff, even if both parties sign the divorce petition. Nonetheless, that does not seem to dissuade those who are seeking a divorce.

6. France

Divorce to marriage ratio: 55%

Paris is considered by many to be a city of love and a city of romance, where many couples madly in love spend time wandering the streets of Paris pondering their future. But as you can see, the French are quite high up in our list when it comes to the number of divorces.

5. Finland

Divorce to marriage ratio: 56%

The fifth spot belongs to Finland with about 56% marriages ending in a divorce per 1,000 people. Even when both partners file for a divorce, they must first get through a 6 month long reconsideration period, and then the divorce is finalized. But still, as you can see when it comes to divorce in Finland, they do not like to reconsider that much.

4. Denmark

Divorce to marriage ratio: 57%

The next entrant in our list is Denmark. The six months of reconsideration period exists in Denmark as well. So, like Finland, spouses who want to get a divorce must first live through six months of being separated from each other. After all that, if they still do not want reconciliation, then they can have divorce.

3. Spain

Divorce to marriage ratio: 58%

We have now entered into the top 3 of our list, and at number 3 we have Spain with about 58% of marriages ending in a divorce. Spain is famous for many things, but apparently not for stable marital relationships.

2. Belgium

Divorce to marriage ratio: 61%

The country with the second highest divorce rate in the world is Belgium according to our data. Well, a country where 61% of marriages end up in divorce truly deserves this title. But the only question that now remains is what is the country with the highest divorce rate in the world?

And now, let’s see the number one on our list of countries with the highest divorce rates in the world in 2017.

1. Luxembourg

Divorce to marriage ratio: 67%

We have reached the very end of our list, and the country with the highest divorce rate in the world is Luxembourg. Luxembourg is also one of the most wealthiest countries in the world as well. Now whether wealth has a correlation with the rate of divorce is yet to be determined, but we can all make our assumptions.

This concludes our list of 15 Countries With The Highest Divorce Rates In The World in 2017.