英国：经济衰退导致离婚率上升

The number of divorces rose for the first time in seven years last year.

The destructive impact of the economic downturn was blamed for the increase, as families struggled to cope with the tensions caused by money pressures and unemployment.

There were 119,589 divorces in England and Wales in 2010, up 4.9 percent from 113,949 in 2009. It is the first increase since 2003.

The rate of divorce also rose, with 11.1 people divorced for every 1,000 in the population of married people in 2010. This was up from 10.5 for every 1,000 married people in 2009, and the first rise in this number for five years.

Divorce was most common in the 40 to 44 age group, and the average marriage that ended in divorce lasted 11.4 years.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics indicate an end to the trend that ran through the second half of the last decade, which showed rising stability of relationships among the declining number of couples who did decide to marry. ONS experts blamed the latest rise in divorces on the economy.

They acknowledged that some reasoning suggests recession should in fact have the opposite effect, as couples are less able to afford lawyers, or to pay for two homes after they part, or to sell their marital home.

But they pointed out that divorce rates went up fast in 1993 in the aftermath of the recession that seriously damaged property values between 1990 and 1992.

Some couples are thought to delay to make sure they are certain before they begin an expensive legal process, and in the hope that an economic recovery may raise the value of their homes and savings.

The ONS figures also showed that by last year a third of couples who wed in 1995 had divorced. This proportion of divorces within 15 years was far up on 1985 levels – by then 22 per cent of couples married in 1970 had divorced.

去年，英国离婚数量自七年以来首次上升。

离婚数量的上升可以归咎于经济下滑的毁灭性影响，许多家庭都疲于应对经济压力和失业问题导致的关系紧张。

2010年，英格兰和威尔士有11万9589对夫妻离婚，比2009年的11万3949对增加了4.9%。这是自2003年以来的首次增长。

离婚率也有所提高，2010年的已婚人士中每1000位就有11.1位会离婚，高于2009年的每1000人中10.5人的离婚率，这也是五年来的首次增长。

离婚现象在40岁至44岁的人群中最普遍，以离婚告终的婚姻平均维持11.4年。

英国国家统计局的数据预示着贯穿上个十年后半段的趋势的消失，也就是真正决定结婚的情侣越来越少，但伴侣关系的稳定性上升。国家统计局的专家把离婚率上升归咎于经济原因。

他们承认某些论证表明事实上经济衰退应该起相反的作用，因为夫妻们更没钱请律师，分开后买不起两套房，或者婚房更难出售。

不过他们指出，1990年至1992年发生经济衰退，导致房价严重下跌，同时也导致1993年离婚率飙升。

有些夫妻拖延离婚是因为他们想在开始昂贵的法律手续之前确认自己决心已定，并且抱有经济复苏会让房子和储蓄升值的希望。

英国国家统计局的数字还显示，截至去年，于1995年结婚的夫妇中三分之一已经离婚。这一结婚15年内的离婚率远远高于1985年，当时在1970年结婚的夫妇中22%已经离婚。