Press Release 10/06/2021

STATISTICS ON MARITAL BREAKDOWNS. 2019

3,348 marriages broke up in the Basque Country in 2019, following an average of just over 15 years together

95,6% of break ups were direct divorces

In 2019 there were 3,348 marital breakdowns in the Basque Country, 203 fewer than in the previous year, according to Eustat data. Of the total number of breakdowns, 14.6% were processed by the courts in Álava, 53.4% in Bizkaia and 32% in Gipuzkoa. Marital breakdown is defined as the dissolution of a marriage due to direct annulment, separation or divorce. In other words, marriages that have ended without a prior legal separation.

Of the total number of direct divorces, 2,625 were by mutual consent and 576 were contested, which represented a fall of 17.5%. As for separations, 128 were by mutual consent and 18 were contested.

In 66.6% of marital breakdowns the request was filed jointly by both spouses, in 20.6% by the wife and only 11.6% by the husband.

35.6% of break ups occurred before the tenth anniversary of the marriage and 29.2% after 20 years. In the case of separations, 57.5% of marriages lasted 15 years or more. The marriages dissolved directly through divorce lasted on average 15 years, a figure that rose to 24 years among those dissolved following a prior legal separation.

34.3% of dissolved marriages had no minor children or dependants of legal age; 52.4% had only minors, 4.9% had only offspring of legal age who were economically dependent and in 8.4% of cases there were both minor and legal age dependants.

In 46.5% of marriages with children, child support was paid by the father, in 6.3% by the mother and in 47.2% by both spouses.

As regards custody of minor children, in 49.8% of cases custody was shared, in 43% the mother had custody and in 7% the father.

The total number of divorces in 2019 was 3,549

Regarding divorces, in 2019 there was a total of 3,549, divided into 348 cases where there had been a prior legal separation and 3,201 direct divorces.

3,508 heterosexual couples got divorced as well as 41 homosexual couples, 10 of them male and 31 female.

In reference to heterosexual divorces, the majority took place in the 40-49 age range, in the case of both men and women, comprising 39.1% and 41.2%, respectively, of the total of divorcees. The average age of women at the time of divorce was 46, whilst for men it was 48.

Regarding the nationality of spouses, 11% of men were foreigners, and the percentage was the same for foreign wives was the same.

As for the civil status of the spouses when they entered into the now-dissolved marriage, 88.6% of women were single, slightly below the figure of 90.3% in the case of men.

Most spouses were resident in the Basque Country on the date of the divorce, although 3.5% of men and 3% of women resided outside the Basque Country.

In 2019 there were 146 separations and 1 marital annulment

Of the 146 separations that occurred in 2019, 87.7% were by mutual consent and 12.3% were resolved through legal action.

Of the total number of separations, 144 corresponded to heterosexual couples and 2 to homosexual couples, one male and one female. In separations of heterosexual couples the average age of women was 48 and the average age of men was 51.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel: 945 01 75 62