The crude divorce rate is the number of divorces registered during one year per one thousand in the mean population. As the name implies this is a crude measure because the mean population includes large numbers who are not exposed to the risk of divorce.
A more accurate measure is therefore provided by age-specific divorce rates. Like other statistics describing population changes, the divorce rate is dependent on age. Furthermore, divorce rates are counted separately for men and women.
Age-specific divorce rates describe the number of same-aged persons divorcing in each five-year (or one-year) age group per one thousand married persons in the mean population.
The total divorce rate expresses the proportion of marriages that end in divorce. It is counted on the basis of the divorce rate for one year. Marriages that end in divorce after different periods are counted in proportion to all marriages contracted during the same year. For example, the number of persons divorcing in 2000 after 30 years of marriage is compared to marriages contracted in 1970, those divorcing after 29 years of marriages are compared to marriages contracted in 1971, etc. This gives the divorce percentage for marriages of different duration. The total divorce rate is obtained by summing up these divorce percentages (the probabilities of divorce).
It is noteworthy that the total divorce rate is a statistical estimate based on the assumption that the divorce rate for the year concerned remains unchanged throughout the duration of the marriage. The same applies to the interpretation of figures from life expectancy tables: they are estimates of the future based on assumptions of no change.
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