A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Indicator 4. Divorce

Number and rate of divorces and number and percent of children under 18 involved annually in divorces: 1950 to 1992

____________________________________________________________________________           |            |  Number of  |   Median   | Number of  |Percent of           | Number of  |divorces per |  years of  | children2/ | children2/    Year   | divorces,  |1,000 married|  marriage  |involved in |involved in           |in thousands|   women,    |  before    | a divorce  | a divorce           |            |15 years old |  divorce   | each year, | each year           |            | and over1/  |            |in thousands| __________|____________|_____________|____________|____________|____________  1950 .....         385          10.3          5.8          299          0.6 1955 .....         377           9.3          6.4          347          0.6 1960 .....         393           9.2          7.1          463          0.7 1965 .....         479          10.6          7.2          630          0.9 1970 .....         708          14.9          6.7          870          1.2  1975 .....       1,036          20.3          6.5        1,123          1.7 1976 .....       1,083          21.1          6.5        1,117          1.7 1977 .....       1,091          21.1          6.6        1,095          1.7 1978 .....       1,130          21.9          6.6        1,147          1.8 1979 .....       1,181          22.8          6.8        1,181          1.8 1980 .....       1,189          22.6          6.8        1,174          1.8  1981 .....       1,213          22.6          7.0        1,180          1.9 1982 .....       1,170          21.7          7.0        1,108          1.8 1983 .....       1,158          21.3          7.0        1,091          1.7 1984 .....       1,169          21.5          6.9        1,081          1.7 1985 .....       1,190          21.7          6.8        1,091          1.7 1986 .....       1,178          21.2          6.9        1,064          1.7 1987 .....       1,166          20.8          7.0        1,038          1.6 1988 .....       1,167          20.7          7.1        1,044          1.6 1989 .....       1,163          20.7          ---          ---          --- 1990 .....       1,175          20.7          ---          ---          --- 1991 .....       1,187          20.9          ---          ---          --- 1992 .....       1,215          21.2          ---          ---          --- ____________________________________________________________________________ 

1/Rates for 1975 to 79 are based on population estimates that were not revised in accordance with the 1980 Census results.
2/Includes children under 18 only.

NOTE: Cumulative numbers of children involved in/affected by divorce are not available. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States, various years; Historical Statistics of the United States to 1975; and Current Population Reports, Series P-25, Population Estimates and Projections, nos. 311, 519, 917, and 1000. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics, Monthly Vital Statistics Report, various years; and Vital Statistics of the United States, various years.