Divorce Statistics for Scandinavia

Divorce Statistics in Scandinavia in 2022

Dreaded and stigmatised, the word ‘divorce’ will never break free from its negative connotations. To many people it represents loss, although to some it also offers a sense of freedom and relief. Due to the sensitivity of the topic - and its complex relationship with religion - everyone feels differently about divorce. To find out more about opinions on divorce in Scandinavia, we surveyed 250 people in Norway about their feelings on divorce in 2022.

Our findings in a nutshell

Our data found that:

• 1 in 4 Norwegians believe that it is never acceptable to get a divorce (26%).

• Out of these, 10% more men than women believe that couples should never divorce (31% vs 21%).

• 63% of women in Norway believe that it’s okay to get divorced, either by no-fault or fault-based procedures.

• Only 1 in 5 Norwegians believe that divorce should be permitted without a good reason, despite Norway operating a no-fault divorce system.

• That’s 14% more women than men, as under half of male respondents answered the same (49%).

• The country that shows the most interest in divorce is Denmark, with Danish people searching for ‘divorce’ 118 times per 100,000 people between 2021 and 2022.

• Despite this, people in Greenland show more interest in ‘how to get a divorce’ than people in Denmark, searching 18 times per 100,000 people. 

The question: what our survey asked

We asked 250 Norwegian adults to answer a short survey question about their opinions on divorce using Google Surveys. Our survey also asked respondents to fill in details such as their gender and age, in order to analyse the demographic impact on our data.

Query: Which of the following statements do you most agree with in relation to your feelings towards divorce?

• Divorce is ok if spouse does something wrong
• I don't believe in divorce at all
• Divorce is ok with no reason needed at all
• I don't believe in marriage at all

We also provided an option for respondents to write their own answer to the question. 

How do adults in Norway feel about divorce in 2022?

Divorce was liberalised in Norway in 1909, changing to favour a no-fault procedure that allows for divorce to be filed if the spouses have gone through a separation period of one year. That makes Norway’s no-fault divorce law over a century old! Just how much does this historical relationship with divorce reflect in opinions on divorce in Norway in 2022? Here’s what we found:

• A quarter of Norwegian adults believe that it is not acceptable to get a divorce (26%).

• While only 1 in 5 (21%) believe that couples should be able to get a divorce without serious reason.

• Despite this, over half of respondents believe that getting a divorce is acceptable, whether or not a reason is required (56%).

• Additionally, as many as 14% of adults in Norway do not believe in marriage at all.

Do opinions on divorce change depending on gender?

Historically, gender has always been a factor in divorce, affecting decisions such as the division of assets and child custody in court proceedings all over the world. In this case, does gender still affect opinions on divorce in Norway in 2022? Our survey asked respondents to fill in their gender in order to separate responses by demographic. We found that: 

• 10% more men than women (31% vs 21%) believe that spouses should never get a divorce.

• 39% of women believe that divorce is acceptable if a spouse has been wronged, 8% more than men (31%).

• And 7% more women believe that spouses should be able to divorce without reason than men (25% to 18%).

• That means that 14% more women than men believe that divorce is okay, either with a reason or without (63% vs 49%). 

• 15% of men do not believe in marriage at all, 2% more than women (13%).

Which Scandinavian countries show the most interest in getting a divorce?

So, how much interest do Scandinavians have in getting divorced? To answer this question, we analysed Google search volumes across Scandinavia to see which divorce-related words and phrases are most frequently looked up. To do this we used the online search analysis tool Keyword Finder. We translated each phrase into the respective language to increase the accuracy of our results. Wherever these translations had less searches than their English counterparts, we used the results for the English phrases as we felt this would give us a more accurate picture of each term's popularity. No data was available for the Faroe or Åland Islands.

• People in Denmark show the most interest in ‘divorce’, searching 118 times per 100,000 people, 57 more times than the Scandinavian average of 61.

• People in Greenland have the second most interest in ‘divorce’, with 89 searches in 2021, conducting 19 more searches than Finnish people.

• People in Sweden have the least interest in ‘divorce’, with only 11 searches per 100,000 people in 2021.

• Across the Scandinavian countries, people search for the term ‘Divorce’ an average of 61 times for every 100,000 members of each population. Interestingly, Norway has a rate of 62, putting it almost exactly at the average rate of searches for Divorce in Nordic countries.

It’s important to note that people looking into getting a divorce won’t just search for ‘divorce’, they’ll search for phrases like ‘divorce lawyer’, ‘how to get a divorce’, and ‘how much does divorce cost’. To get a clearer idea of how many people are looking into getting a divorce across Scandinavia, we analysed search data for all of these phrases in Keyword Finder.

• Despite having less searches than Denmark for the word ‘divorce’, people in Greenland search for ‘how to get a divorce’ 18 times per 100,000 people, 8 more times than Danish people.

• Again, Swedish people show the least interest in all phrases related to ‘divorce’, searching only 7 times collectively per 100,000 people.

• ‍People in Finland have the most interest in the costs of divorce, searching for ‘how much does divorce cost’ 7 timesper 100,000 people, 4.5 more than the Scandinavian average of 2.5.

Do divorce laws differ across Scandinavian countries?

Divorce laws are notably liberal across Scandinavia, featuring no-fault divorce systems and offering support to ease the stress of an otherwise daunting prospect. Despite their similarities, are there any differences between divorce laws across Scandinavia? To find out, we collected data on divorce laws in each country.

• Norway: In Norway, spouses must apply for legal separation one year before they can obtain a no-fault divorce. Norway will grant immediate divorce on grounds of abuse, but all other grounds require this period of separation. 

• ‍Sweden: There is no legal separation period before acquiring a divorce in Sweden, but there is a mandatory reconsideration period if the spouses have a child under the age of 16, or if one of the spouses does not agree to the divorce. 

• ‍Denmark: If both spouses agree to separate in Denmark, a divorce can be granted immediately. If only one spouse wants a divorce, the couple must be separated for 6 months before the divorce will be granted. A divorce can be granted immediately in specific cases such as adultery, violence or child abduction.

• Finland: In Finland, a reconsideration period of 6 months is required before a couple can obtain a divorce. Spouses can acquire a divorce immediately if they’ve lived apart for 2 years previously.

• Greenland: Both spouses must attend a meeting and agree on specific terms before a divorce is granted, such as spousal maintenance, accomodation leases, and compensation for property.

• Iceland: In Iceland, divorce requests take roughly a year to process. A request for divorce can be submitted by either one or both  spouses, although both parties must agree on the terms of the divorce for permission to be granted.

More facts & figures about divorce in Scandinavia:

Interested in learning more? Here are some more facts about divorce in Scandinavia:

• 12% of divorced men in Norway say they do not see their child on a regular monthly basis.

• In Norway in 2020, there were 10.1 divorces per 1,000 married men, and 9.3 divorces per 1,000 married women.

• The number of Norwegian couples opting for a divorce decreased during the pandemic with 3% fewer divorces taking place in 2020 compared to 2019.

• Finland had the third highest divorce rate in Europe in 2019, with 59.9 out of 100 marriages ending in divorce.

• The average marriage length before divorce in Sweden was 11.5 years in 2020.

• Additionally, nearly 8,000 divorces in Sweden in 2020 were requested by adults between 40 and 44 years old.

We hope that our data has helped you get a better understanding of the most recent divorce statistics across Scandinavia. If you’d like to know more about divorce and family law, check out our website’s family category here.

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