What percentage of marriages end in divorce?

As of 2015, the divorce rate in the United States is about 30 percent. The U.S. divorce rate peaked in the the 1970s and 1980s when about 50 percent of marriages ended in divorce, but it has been steadily going down ever since.

According to social scientists, there are several reasons for the decreased divorce rate. These include a trend toward marrying later and better access to birth control both before and after marriage. Other possible reasons for the decline in divorces is the increased trend for couples to live together before getting married, and a shift in what society expects of women.