# Are the divorce statistics true?



## becareful (Jan 28, 2016)

Everyone seems to be regurgitating the stat that 50% of marriages end in divorce but I'm wondering if that number is reliable.


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## syhoybenden (Feb 21, 2013)

My understanding is that it refers to 50% of all marriages taking into account that some people will have multiple marriages in their lives. Think of Hollywood people and their half dozen or so marriages. They kind of skew the numbers. Makes for a good headline though.


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## jsmart (Mar 14, 2015)

The 50% # includes 2 and 3 marriages, which have a WAY higher failure rate. 1st marriages have about 35 to 40 % failure rate or put another way, a 60 to 65% successful rate, which doesn't include couples that divorce but stay together or even remarry.


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## ReidWright (May 15, 2014)

50% if you marry before the age of 20 I think... It drops after that

Want to Avoid Divorce? Wait to Get Married, But Not Too Long | Family Studies


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## Lostinthought61 (Nov 5, 2013)

I recall in graduate school my Stat professor telling this joke the first day...


there are three types of lies 

1. White lie
2. Damn lies 
3. and Statistics 

the problem with the latter is that you can make anything sound worse or better with stats, they can be mannipulated however you want to twist the truth, the only thing that matters in the end is your marriage, your life, and your perception of what it takes to make a good marriage, everything else is noise.


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## Married but Happy (Aug 13, 2013)

Overall, I saw census statistics indicating about 43%. It's higher for some groups (less education, married young), and lower for others (more educated, marry later). The rate varies over time (lower) due to external factors such as recessions and poor job markets.


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## Mr. Nail (Apr 26, 2011)

Xenote said:


> , the only thing that matters in the end is your marriage, your life, and your perception of what it takes to make a good marriage, everything else is noise.


So I am currently enjoying a 100% marriage success rate. But in the event of divorce that would drop to 0%, Then should I remarry 50%, unless that marriage also ended in divorce then back to 0%, upon a second remarriage up to 33%. And so on. 

Since us 100%ers only contribute once to the pool of marriages we have a disproportionately low influence on the statistic. Where as a 25%er would contribute 4 x the data (4 marriages and 3 divorces) The only way 100%ers could hope to match that kind of influence would be to enter into polygamy. I have been reassured that should I attempt this there will be at least one divorce on my account so no point really.


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## JohnA (Jun 24, 2015)

Perhaps some woman take this to heart: A man tells his wife if I pass first I hope you find someone quickly but I do need you to do one thing for me. She says what? He says just give all my stuff away as I don't want some wanker playing with my stuff. She thinks about it agrees and asks "what make you think I will marry another wanker. Check this thread out http://talkaboutmarriage.com/social-spot/303513-jokes-related-marriage.html


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## TRy (Sep 14, 2011)

syhoybenden said:


> My understanding is that it refers to 50% of all marriages taking into account that some people will have multiple marriages in their lives. Think of Hollywood people and their half dozen or so marriages. They kind of skew the numbers. Makes for a good headline though.


:smthumbup:
A real world example is that I know 3 bothers where 2 are in long term marriages and have never been divorced, but 1 of the brothers has been divorce 3 times and is on his 4th marriage. That is a total of 6 marraiges and 3 divorces for the 3 brother, or 50% divorce rate for the bothers, when in fact 2 of the 3 have never been divorced.


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## GuyInColorado (Dec 26, 2015)

I think real world is 45% end up in divorce and another 30% are in skeleton marriages, only there for kids or finances. If you talk to people and get them to be honest, most people are trapped in miserable marriages.


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## pplwatching (Jun 15, 2012)

Whether or not the statistics reflect the current state of most people's marriages, there's a few interesting articles on the web about this.

U.S. Divorce Rates and Statistics - Divorce Source
_The 50 percent statistic is very misleading, if not completely wrong. "The demographics of divorce are routinely reported wrong, calculated wrong or misinterpreted," says Robert Hughes, a former professor in the Department of Human & Family Services, College of Human Environmental Science, University of Missouri-Columbia._

Why Everyone Was So Wrong About America's Alleged Divorce Rate
_[That statistic] has always been a projection, and it’s a 40-year projection, and it’s based on data from the early baby boomer generation, when the baby boomers were getting married._

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/u...2000&bicmet=1419773522000&_r=5&abt=0002&abg=0
_It is no longer true that the divorce rate is rising, or that half of all marriages end in divorce. It has not been for some time._

I have no idea what the reality is. Two of my siblings are divorced (after 10 and 15 years of marriage). My marriage is in the low twenties now. By that yardstick, the number is higher.


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## MEM2020 (Aug 23, 2009)

Heavily skewed by ages and education levels of the spouses.



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## Herschel (Mar 27, 2016)

Sorry if I am throwing the number off. Already 1 divorce, working on #2. I swear, neither are my fault. The entire world sucks, it's not me.


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## TRy (Sep 14, 2011)

Herschel said:


> Sorry if I am throwing the number off. Already 1 divorce, working on #2. I swear, neither are my fault. The entire world sucks, it's not me.


 So you are the guy throwing the numbers off. I should have know. LOL!!!


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## misslonelyheart (Apr 3, 2016)

I'm not sure of the divorce rate. I do know that in the small rural school district where I work, 60% of our students, grades K-12, live in single parent homes. However, I'm not sure what percentage of that is due to divorce and what percentage the parents were never married to begin with. I only know of 3 kids coming from homes where the parent is widowed and 2 of them are siblings.


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## lancaster (Dec 2, 2013)

IDK, but what I think is really important are happy marriages/relationships.


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## MJJEAN (Jun 26, 2015)

My friends mom has been married and divorced 6 times. Her sisters have each had 2-3 marriages. Her brother 2. So, yeah, there are people out there seriously skewing the stats.


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## Mia Clarkson (Apr 6, 2016)

for college educated women who marry after the age of 25 and have established an independent source of income, the divorce rate is only 20 percent!


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## Almost-Done (Mar 5, 2016)

Mia Clarkson said:


> for college educated women who marry after the age of 25 and have established an independent source of income, the divorce rate is only 20 percent!


Wife is older 25, has a masters from a top school and is going through her second divorce. 0/2 for her. 0/1 for me. Or, as I say, one and done.


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