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Divorce rate in Ireland

Ireland: Divorce rate was 0.7 per 1,000 people in 2017. ▲ Rising

Latest (2017)
0.7 per 1,000 people
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
42nd
of 43 countries
All-time high
0.9 per 1,000 people
in 2006
All-time low
0 per 1,000 people
in 1997
Years of data
21
1997–2017

Divorce rate in Ireland, 1997–2017

00.20.40.60.811997200720171997: 0 per 1,000 people1998: 0.4 per 1,000 people1999: 0.6 per 1,000 people2000: 0.7 per 1,000 people2001: 0.7 per 1,000 people2002: 0.7 per 1,000 people2003: 0.7 per 1,000 people2004: 0.8 per 1,000 people2005: 0.8 per 1,000 people2006: 0.9 per 1,000 people2007: 0.8 per 1,000 people2008: 0.8 per 1,000 people2009: 0.7 per 1,000 people2010: 0.7 per 1,000 people2011: 0.6 per 1,000 people2012: 0.6 per 1,000 people2013: 0.6 per 1,000 people2014: 0.6 per 1,000 people2015: 0.7 per 1,000 people2016: 0.7 per 1,000 people2017: 0.7 per 1,000 people

Source: OECD (2025) and other sources – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in per 1,000 people.

Analysis

The most recent figure for divorce rate in Ireland is 0.7 per 1,000 people, measured in 2017.

That represents a change of down 12.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, divorce rate in Ireland peaked at 0.9 per 1,000 people in 2006 and was at its lowest, 0 per 1,000 people, in 1997.

That places Ireland 42nd out of 43 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.

Divorce rate in Ireland, year by year

Year per 1,000 people Change
1997 0 per 1,000 people —
1998 0.4 per 1,000 people —
1999 0.6 per 1,000 people +50.0%
2000 0.7 per 1,000 people +16.7%
2001 0.7 per 1,000 people +0.0%
2002 0.7 per 1,000 people +0.0%
2003 0.7 per 1,000 people +0.0%
2004 0.8 per 1,000 people +14.3%
2005 0.8 per 1,000 people +0.0%
2006 0.9 per 1,000 people +12.5%
2007 0.8 per 1,000 people -11.1%
2008 0.8 per 1,000 people +0.0%
2009 0.7 per 1,000 people -12.5%
2010 0.7 per 1,000 people +0.0%
2011 0.6 per 1,000 people -14.3%
2012 0.6 per 1,000 people +0.0%
2013 0.6 per 1,000 people +0.0%
2014 0.6 per 1,000 people +0.0%
2015 0.7 per 1,000 people +16.7%
2016 0.7 per 1,000 people +0.0%
2017 0.7 per 1,000 people +0.0%

Ireland compared with similar countries

  • Ireland's 0.7 per 1,000 people is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.76 per 1,000 people, 40% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
  • Ireland's 0.7 per 1,000 people is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.8 per 1,000 people, 39% of the median. (31 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.3333 per 1,000 people 0 per 1,000 people 0.6 per 1,000 people 3
2000s 0.76 per 1,000 people 0.7 per 1,000 people 0.9 per 1,000 people 10
2010s 0.65 per 1,000 people 0.6 per 1,000 people 0.7 per 1,000 people 8

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 39 Canada 1.1 per 1,000 people compare
  2. 40 Slovenia 1 per 1,000 people compare
  3. 41 Malta 0.9 per 1,000 people compare
  4. 43 Colombia 0.55 per 1,000 people compare

See the full ranking of 43 places →

More reference data data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is divorce rate in Ireland?
Divorce rate in Ireland was 0.7 per 1,000 people in 2017, according to OECD (2025) and other sources – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest divorce rate recorded in Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 0.9 per 1,000 people in 2006.
What is the lowest divorce rate recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 0 per 1,000 people in 1997.
How does Ireland rank for divorce rate?
Ireland ranks 42nd out of 43 countries with data for 2017.
Is divorce rate rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is down 12.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ireland data come from?
The figures come from OECD (2025) and other sources – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Divorce rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Divorce rate in Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on OECD (2025) and other sources – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/divorces-per-1000-people/ireland/

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About this data

Indicator
Divorce rate
Unit
per 1,000 people
Source
OECD (2025) and other sources – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
43 places, 2,139 data points, 1960–2022
Last refreshed

Number of divorces during a given year per 1,000 people.