3.6% increase in divorces in 2023

There were 20,034 divorces in 2023. This is a 3.6% increase compared to 2022. While this number is almost constant in Wallonia (+0.2%), it is rising in the other two regions (+10.3% in Brussels-Capital and +4.5% in Flanders).

The duration of marriage before divorce remains stable: 14.7 years on average. It is slightly longer in the Walloon Region (15.7 years) than in Flanders (14.4 years) and Brussels (14.2 years). This difference in average duration is even more marked for first marriages. On average, people get divorced after 17.3 years of marriage in Wallonia, compared to 15.6 years in Flanders and 15 years in the Brussels-Capital Region.

In relation to the marriages they extinguish (the "stock of marriages"), divorces once again account for over a third of marriage terminations this year. This figure exceeds 40% in the Walloon Region (420 divorces per 1,000 marriages). Brussels follows suit (390 divorces per 1,000 marriages), while Flanders has a slightly lower figure (355 divorces per 1,000 marriages). It should also be noted that the number of marriages likely to end is decreasing: the stock of marriages considered has fallen by 11% in 10 years and 19.7% in 20 years.