With 66% of marriages ending in separation, the Grand Duchy records one of the highest divorce rates globally.
This figure does not suggest that Luxembourgers marry less or love for a shorter time. Rather, it reflects a complex social reality. Luxembourg’s highly international population, professional mobility, cultural differences, and recent legislative changes all contribute to the statistics.
In a country where careers move across borders and family lives are frequently reshaped, relationships can be more vulnerable.
For comparison, Portugal tops the list with a divorce rate of 71%, followed by Spain at 57%. France stands at roughly 54%, though its figures have been distorted since divorces can be registered by a notary rather than going through the courts. Belgium, Finland, and Cuba also appear in the global top ten.
This ranking is based on the divorce rate: the number of divorces relative to the number of marriages recorded in the same year. It is often more revealing than the crude rate – divorces per 1,000 inhabitants – which tends to place countries such as Russia, Belarus, or the United States at the top.
In Luxembourg, the statistic raises questions: does it point to a more liberal society, a more pragmatic one, or simply one more exposed to the pressures of modern life? What the numbers cannot show, however, are the individual stories and decisions behind them.
