Over the past decade, divorce rates in the United States and many other developed countries have declined remarkably. According to new data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, the number of marriages has remained around 7 to 8 per 1,000 people per year. In addition, compared to Generation X and Baby Boomers, millennials are less likely to divorce with various social and generational changes explaining this phenomenon.

Divorce by the numbers

Divorce rates peaked in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly among Baby Boomers, who married young in an era of changing social norms. In contrast, divorce rates began to decline steadily in the early 2000s, with a steeper decline in the last decade. According to a 2018 Pew Research Center analysis, the overall divorce rate fell by 18% between 2008 and 2018. Millennials, who are now in their prime marriage years, have contributed to this trend by approaching marriage differently than previous generations.