Divorce rates among recently married couples in the UK have dropped to their lowest levels in almost thirty years, a new study has found. The drop coincides with a rise in the rate of cohabitation.

Figures from the Marriage Foundation show the number of couples divorcing after three years has more than halved, while among those who have stayed married for at least five years, divorce is down by more than a third (39 per cent). For those who have been together for more than a decade the rate is down by a fifth.

Harry Benson, research director of Marriage Foundation, told The Times: ‘Among all the talk of divorce and law reform, it’s easy to miss the good news story that today’s marriages are more stable than at any time since the 1970s. ‘Some level of relationship failure is inevitable. But today’s falling divorce rates contrast with far higher break-up rates among couples who don’t marry.’

Sir Paul Coleridge, founder and chairman of Marriage Foundation, said: ‘For those of us who are in the long-term business of confronting and combatting the national scourge of family breakdown, with all its attendant pain and suffering for children, it is rare to encounter genuinely good news.’