In 2021, Brazil saw a record number of divorces, with 80,573 official separations, according to the Association of Registrars of Natural Persons, which records registry data. This represents an almost 4-percent increase compared to 2020, which itself was a record year.
Out of every 100 marriages, nine broke up. But there are variations across the country. In Pará state, there were four times more divorces than the national average – or 36 divorces per 100 unions. And in Alagoas, four times fewer – 2 per 100.
The total number of divorces has been increasing since 2017, but peaked in the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. During that period, the imposition of social isolation meant that many couples were forced to live together 24 hours a day, which, according to experts, caused increased stress on relationships and drove separations.
However, the number of marriages did see a slight uptick last year. In 2020, total unions were down 25 percent, but up last year by 23 percent. There were 890,915 marriages registered in 2021.
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