Number of divorces

IBISWorld forecasts the number of divorces to drop by 0.3% during 2025-26, to reach 7,276. This is expected to coincide with the economic recovery following the cost-of-living and inflationary pressures. Falling discretionary income increases the level of financial stress in relationships. Financial stress is commonly cited as a reason for divorce. Discretionary incomes are expected to increase in the current year, contributing to a fall in the number of divorces over the current year.

The number of divorces in New Zealand has dropped over the past five years. Strong growth in discretionary incomes earlier in the past five years has relieved financial distress for married couples. The latest statistics from Statistics New Zealand show that the number of divorces in 2024 totalled 7497. This equates to a divorce rate of 7.5 divorces for every 1,000 marriages. This represents a decline over the past decade, with a divorce rate of 8.6 in 2014. Despite a lack of conclusive research, one explanation for the falling rate is that because couples are marrying later in life, they are more financially secure and, therefore, more likely to have a stable relationship.

The median age of women at divorce in 2024 was 45.7, while the median age of men at divorce was 48.0. The median age of divorce has pushed up over the past decade. This reflects the fact that couples in New Zealand are marrying later in life, rather than marriages lasting longer, with the average length of a marriage ending in divorce remaining relatively stable over the same time period. Overall, IBISWorld forecasts the number of divorces to fall at a compound annual rate of 0.3% over the five years through 2025-26.