英國：經濟衰退導致離婚率上升
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，英國離婚數量自七年以來首次上升。
離婚數量的上升可以歸咎於經濟下滑的毀滅性影響，許多家庭都疲於應對經濟壓力和失業問題導致的關係緊張。
2010年，英格蘭和威爾士有11萬9589對夫妻離婚，比2009年的11萬3949對增加了4.9%。這是自2003年以來的首次增長。
離婚率也有所提高，2010年的已婚人士中每1000位就有11.1位會離婚，高於2009年的每1000人中10.5人的離婚率，這也是五年來的首次增長。
離婚現象在40歲至44歲的人羣中最普遍，以離婚告終的婚姻平均維持11.4年。
英國國家統計局的數據預示着貫穿上個十年後半段的趨勢的消失，也就是真正決定結婚的情侶越來越少，但伴侶關係的穩定性上升。國家統計局的專家把離婚率上升歸咎於經濟原因。
他們承認某些論證表明事實上經濟衰退應該起相反的作用，因爲夫妻們更沒錢請律師，分開後買不起兩套房，或者婚房更難出售。
不過他們指出，1990年至1992年發生經濟衰退，導致房價嚴重下跌，同時也導致1993年離婚率飆升。
有些夫妻拖延離婚是因爲他們想在開始昂貴的法律手續之前確認自己決心已定，並且抱有經濟復甦會讓房子和儲蓄升值的希望。
英國國家統計局的數字還顯示，截至去年，於1995年結婚的夫婦中三分之一已經離婚。這一結婚15年內的離婚率遠遠高於1985年，當時在1970年結婚的夫婦中22%已經離婚。
