Most people in Indiana probably know at least one couple or one person that has gotten divorced. No longer an uncommon or even a taboo experience, divorce is still something that most people would say they would rather avoid. It is also something that many people hold misconceptions about. One of those misconceptions is about how many divorces happen in America today.
When looking at any set of statistics, it is important to put some context around the data. When it comes to divorces, some reports focus on the number of divorces and some focus on the percent of the population that has been divorced. These are two very different things and they tell very different stories, especially when one considers the population increase that has occurred over generations.
As reported by Insider, the divorce rate has experienced its share of ups and downs since the mid-1880’s through to today. In 1867, there were 0.3 divorces for every 1,000 people in America. By the turn of the century, that increased to 0.9 divorces per every 1,000 people. Another increase was seen in 1947 when the rate grew to 3.4 but then it dropped to 2.1 by 1958.
A greater percentage of people began getting divorced through the subsequent two decades and by 1979, the divorce rate in the United States reached an all-time high of 5.3. By 1999, the number dropped to 4.1 and the latest rate from 2017 was 2.9. One factor in the decline over the last 18 years may well be the fact that fewer millennials are getting married today than their counterparts did in prior generations.
