Divorce rates in 2017 were the lowest since 1973, with 101,669 divorces of opposite-sex couples in England and Wales, and 338 divorces of same-sex couples, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This represents a decrease of 4.9 percent compared with 2016, but is similar to the number seen in 2015 (101,055). 

There were 8.4 divorces of opposite-sex couples per 1,000 married people in 2017, which is 5.6 percent down from 2016, and 40 percent down from the peak in 1993. 

In the past two years, divorce rates have increased for men aged 45 years and over and for women aged 50 years an...