It’s an unfortunate reality that the divorce rate in Singapore, and indeed the modern culture, is high, common, and widespread.
In 2022, the “Statistics on Marriages and Divorces, 2022” report by the Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) revealed a historic peak in marriage registrations, reaching 29,3891, marking a 3.7% increase from the 28,329 marriages recorded in 2021.
This surge contrasts with the prior five-year period’s annual average of 26,562 marriages, which was below the average of 27,833 marriages registered annually between 2013 and 2017.
The decline in marriages during 2020, attributed to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, partially explains the lower average in recent years.
Read: What’s the Legal Difference Between Annulment and Divorce
Marriage Rates
In 2022, marriage rates for both men and women saw an increase. The rate of marriages among single men aged 15-49 years climbed to 47.0 per thousand, a rise from 43.8 in 2012. Likewise, the rate for single women in the same age group increased to 45.5 per thousand from 39.4 ten years earlier.
These marriage rates for 2022 were some of the highest recorded in the last twenty years, only slightly lower than the peak rates of 47.5 for men and 45.8 for women seen in 2002.
Marriage Duration
: The Singapore Department of Statistics has it on record that people are staying longer in marriages before going their separate ways.
As at 2017, the average marriage ended after 10.3 years, an increase from 9.6 years back in 2007. Most couples (30.2% or 1 in 3) separated between the 5 and 9 year mark in 2017.
So apparently, the increase in late divorce age can be partly ascribed to people staying longer with their partners.
Median Age of First Marriages
: In 2022, marriage rates for both men and women saw an increase. The rate of marriages among single men aged 15-49 years climbed to 47.0 per thousand, a rise from 43.8 in 2012.
Likewise, the rate for single women in the same age group increased to 45.5 per thousand from 39.4 ten years earlier. These marriage rates for 2022 were some of the highest recorded in the last twenty years, only slightly lower than the peak rates of 47.5 for men and 45.8 for women seen in 2002.
Inter-ethnic Marriages And Divorce
With more foreigners working and living in Singapore, and more Singaporeans living abroad, it’s only natural that there be more mixed marriages recorded, as citizens embrace other ethnicities.
In 2022, inter-ethnic marriages accounted for 16.6% of the total, maintaining a relatively stable trend over the past decade, fluctuating within the range of 15% to 18%. This consistency is evident in both civil marriages (13% to 17%) and Muslim marriages (22% to 24%) during the same period.
The rate of inter-ethnic divorces and annulments in Singapore showed a gradual increase over the years, reaching 15.7% in 2020, 16.5% in 2021, and 17.4% in 2022. This upward trend suggests a noteworthy shift in marital dynamics, highlighting the need for a closer examination of factors influencing inter-ethnic relationships and their resilience.
Falling Number of Marital Dissolutions & Higher Median Age at Divorce
In 2022, the number of marriages that concluded in divorce or annulment dropped to 7,107, marking a 9.9% decrease from the 7,890 cases of marital dissolution recorded the year before.
The average annual number of marital dissolutions from 2018 to 2022 was 7,385, which is slightly less than the average of 7,509 seen in the five years prior.
Median Age of Divorce
: Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the median age at which people divorce, climbing from 41.6 years in 2012 to 44.4 years in 2022 for men, and from 38.0 years to 40.5 years for women.
Decrease in Dissolution Rates Within 10 Years of Marriage
The rate at which marriages dissolved before reaching their 10th anniversary has seen a decline among resident couples who got married after 2005. Specifically, the cumulative percentage of marriages ending before the 10th anniversary decreased from 17.0% for couples married in 2005 to 14.5% for those married in 2011.
Furthermore, it was observed that the highest dissolution rates for resident marriages occurred between the 5th and just before the 10th anniversary, more than during any other 5-year period. Beyond the 10th anniversary, the likelihood of marriages dissolving decreased with each subsequent 5-year milestone.
For more detailed insights, the “Statistics on Marriages and Divorces, 2022” report along with additional resources can be found on the SingStat Website.
Reason For Divorce
In 2022, like ten years earlier, the majority of civil divorce filings were initiated by wives, with the proportion slightly decreasing to 63.1% from 64.4% in 2012. The primary reasons for divorce cited by both female and male plaintiffs remained consistent with those reported in 2012.
The leading cause for women was their spouse’s “Unreasonable Behaviour” (58.1% in 2022), while for men, it was “Living apart or separated for three years or more” (52.9%).
“Infidelity or extra-marital affairs” emerged as the foremost reason for divorce among both genders, with 18.6% of men and 19.3% of women citing it in 2022. This was followed by “Desertion” for men (9.9%) and “Financial Problems” for women (13.8%).
So far, the Ministry of Social and Family Development has applauded the fall in the divorce rate in Singapore and has called for more reconciliatory efforts between couples – in the form of counselling and educative programs on the impacts of divorce on children – before they officially file for divorce.
So far, the Ministry of Social and Family Development has applauded the fall in the divorce rate in Singapore and has called for more reconciliatory efforts between couples – in the form of counselling and educative programs on the impacts of divorce on children – before they officially file for divorce.
The aim of programs like the Mandatory Parenting Program (MPP) is to, at the very least, make the whole process less antagonistic, if reconciliatory efforts fail.
Of course, the ministry can take its efforts even further by partnering with pre-marital counselling agencies whose aim is to ensure newlyweds are better prepared for the journey ahead.
If you’re interested in learning more about divorce in Singapore, contact us to get sound advice from our divorce lawyers.
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