Global Divorce Rates: Surprising Findings and Highest Rate in a Small Country

Divorce rates around the world show significant variation, with some countries having much higher rates than others. Surprisingly, the highest divorce rate is not in the US, UK, Japan, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, or Iran, but in a small country with a population of just 10.4 million.

According to the Global Index, the divorce rate in the US is 45%, ranking it 19th globally. Canada has a similar rate. Interestingly, European countries generally have higher divorce rates than the US.

Portugal Leads the World
The country with the highest divorce rate in the world is Portugal, where an astounding 92% of marriages end in divorce. Following Portugal, Spain has the second-highest rate at 85%, and other European countries such as Luxembourg, Finland, Belgium, France, and Sweden follow closely with a divorce rate of 50%.

Divorce Trends in Asia
In Asian countries, divorce rates have been steadily rising in recent years, although they remain significantly lower than in Europe.