Divorce rates rising for long-term couples

Old married couples tend to divorce after their children grow up and move out of their family homes, figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics suggest.

According to the figures, the divorce rate has decreased in the country, but people have shown a tendency of walking out from long-term relationships.

The ABS paper, Marriages and Divorces, Australia, 2008, notes that last year had the fewest divorces in a single year since 1992, with 2.2 divorces per 1000 population, the lowest in 20 years.

"Divorce today is more likely to involve long-term marriages than in the past," the Daily Telegraph quoted Australian Institute of Family Studies director, Alan Hayes, as saying.

He added: "For example, 28% of divorces in 2008 involved marriages of at least 20 years. In 1990, the figure was 20%.

"If the relationship has broken down, it may be that couples today are less prepared than in previous generations to stay together after their children leave the marital home."

However, he noted that the ABS figures showed that "marriage hasn't gone out of style. People still want to get married.

"It's consistent with the institute's research, which indicates the majority of men and women across all ages endorse marriage as an institution."