By the Numbers: US Divorces Decline & EU Life Expectancy Rises
This week, we have US data on marriages + divorces. We also have vital statistics for the US, Japan, Singapore, and the EU.
#1. US: Marriages Up, Divorces Down
The CDC has released 2022 marriage and divorce statistics. (CDC)
Total Marriages: 2.1M, +4.1% YoY
Marriage Rate: 6.2 per 1K pop, +0.2 since 2021
Total Divorces: 674K, -3.1% YoY (45 Reporting States & DC)
Divorce Rate: 2.4 per 1K pop, -0.1 since 2021
Our Take: In 2022, the marriage rate returned to its pre-pandemic level. People who postponed their weddings during lockdowns finally tied the knot. Nevertheless, the marriage rate is still low compared to the historical average.
Meanwhile, the divorce rate declined, continuing a decades-long trend. The most obvious reason is that fewer people are getting married, and therefore, there are fewer marriages to break up. Yet even if you look at divorces as a share of new marriages, this too has been falling, albeit at a slower rate. This is due to a shifting composition effect. During the American High, almost everyone felt pressured to get married. Today, that is no longer true: Those who get married tend to be older, more educated, more affluent, more motivated, and more emotionally stable—which means their marriages are more likely to survive over time. (See “Millennials Turn to Prenups.”)
