Press Release: Statistics on annulments, separations and divorces. Year 2023.

Main results

In 2023 there were 76,685 divorces, 5.7% fewer than in the previous year. Of these, 14.9% were notarised.
Joint custody was granted in 48.4% of divorce cases involving couples with children, 2.9% more than the previous year.

More information

Detailed results (includes information about CCAA)

During 2023 there were a total of 80,065 cases of annulment, separation and divorce, a decrease of 5.3% compared with the previous year and a rate of 1.7 per 1,000 inhabitants.

Marriage dissolutions (annulments, separations and divorces). Records for 2014-2023¹

Absolute values and variation rates (%)

¹The information for annulments in 2023 is incomplete.

The number of divorces fell by 5.7% compared with the previous year, while separations increased by 5.3%.

By type of resolution, 47,588 cases were settled by judgement, 20,147 by decree, and 12,360 by public deed.

By type of process, there were 76,685 divorces and 3,380 separations. Divorces amounted to 95.8% of the total and separations, 4.2%.

There were 1,718 same-sex divorces in 2023 (2.2% of the total). Among them, 832 were men and 886 were women. There were also 91 separations (2.7% of the total).

Divorces by type

81.6% of divorces in 2023 were by mutual agreement, while 18.4% were contested. 59.9% were by a judgement (compared with 61.2% the previous year), 25.2% by decree (25.9% in 2022) and 14.9% by public deed (compared with 12.9%).

Duration of marriages dissolved by divorce

Marriages dissolved by divorce had an average duration of 16.4 years, similar to the previous year.

32.0% of divorces occurred after 20 years of marriage or more. 21.4% occurred between five and nine years after marriage, 16.7% between 10 and 14 years, 15.7% between 15 and 19 years, 10.8% between two and four years and 3.3% after less than two years.

Average age, nationality and marital status of the spouses

The highest number of divorces between spouses of different sexes occurred in the 40-49 year old age group, among both men and women.

The average age of women in divorce proceedings was 46.2 years. For men it was 48.7 years.

Average age of spouses in divorce proceedings. Records for 2014-2023

Years of age

In 79.6% of the different sex divorces, both spouses were of Spanish nationality. In 12.3%, one of the spouses was a foreigner and in 8.0%, both spouses were foreigners.

Regarding the marital status of different sex spouses when they married, most were single. Among men, 9.4% were divorced and 0.4% widowed. Among women, 9.9% were divorced and 0.5% were widows.

Number of children, custody and pensions

46.2% of marriages corresponding to divorce decrees did not have children (minors or economically dependent adults).

42.6% had only minor children, 3.7% had only economically dependent adult children and 7.4% had economically dependent minor and adult children. 23.5% only had one child (minor or economically dependent adult).

In 50.7% of divorces between spouses of different sexes, there were minor children over whom custody had to be awarded. In 3.5% of these divorces, custody was granted to the father, in 47.8% to the mother, in 48.4% custody was shared and in 0.3% it was granted to other institutions or family members.

It is noteworthy that, for the first time, the cases of joint custody exceeded those in which custody was granted to the mother.

Custody of minor children in divorces between partners of different sex. Records for 2014-2023

Percentage

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In 54.5% of divorces of different sex spouses, alimony was assigned. In 54.9% of cases, alimony corresponded to the father, in 3.6% to the mother and in 41.5% to both spouses.

In 7.0% of divorces of different sex spouses, a compensatory pension was established. In 90.2% of these, payment was assigned to the husband.

As for who made the filing, in 72.4% of the cases of divorce of different sex spouses it was presented by both spouses, in 18.0% by the wife and in 9.6% by the husband.

Results by Autonomous Communities and Cities

The rate of annulments, separations and divorces per 1,000 inhabitants in Spain in 2023 was 1.7.

The autonomous city of Ceuta (2.4) recorded the highest rate per 1,000 inhabitants. In contrast, the autonomous city of Melilla (1.1) had the lowest.

Annulments² , separations and divorces by autonomous communities and cities³. Year 2023

Rates per 1,000 inhabitants and absolute values

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²Data point not available in 2023.
³The assignment of annulments, separations and divorces to a specific autonomous community has been carried out according to the location of the judicial body or notary's office that issued the resolution or public deed, and not the spouses’ place of residence or birth.

Data revisions and updates

The data published today are final. All results of this operation are available on INEBase.

Methodological note

The Statistics on Annulments, Separations and Divorces are carried out by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) on the basis of the Agreement signed with the General Judicial Council (GJC) dated 14 February 1995.

It is oriented to the study of matrimonial dissolution proceedings handled through sentences, decrees and public deeds on behalf of the judges, the judicial administration lawyers (formerly judicial secretaries) and notaries, respectively.

The objective of these statistics is to determine the number of these judgements, decrees and public deeds by providing information on some of the main socio-demographic characteristics of the spouses involved (sex, age, nationality, number of children), on the type of separation or divorce (by mutual agreement or contested) and on other variables of social interest associated with the judicial process (alimony, custody, duration of the proceedings, etc.).

Type of operation:: annual continuous statistics.
Population scope:: Judgements, decrees and public deeds issued on annulments, separations and divorces.
Geographical scope:: the entire national territory.
Reference period for the results:: the calendar year.
Information reference period:: the date on which the sentence, decree or public deed of the dissolution of the marriage takes place.
Collection method:: statistical form based on an administrative act.

More information on the methodology and the standardised methodological report.

INE statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Good Practice for European Statistics. More information on Quality in the INE and Code of Good Practices.