Divorces in Spain Drop 2.7% in 2025, Shared Custody Surpasses 50% for First Time

The number of divorces in Spain fell by 2.7% in 2025 to 80,785, while shared custody of minor children became the majority arrangement for the first time, reaching 50.8% of cases with children. This is according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE).

Key figures

• Total dissolution proceedings (divorces, separations, annulments): 83,683, down 3.4% year-on-year. Source: euronewses
• Non-contentious divorces accounted for 80.5% of the total; 19.5% were contested. Source: abces
• Average marriage duration at divorce: 16.2 years; 31.2% of divorces occurred after 20+ years of marriage. Source: infobae
• Mean age at divorce: 49.1 years for men, 46.6 for women. Source: euronewses

Custody and family outcomes

The most striking shift concerns child custody arrangements. Shared custody was awarded in 50.8% of divorces with minor children, up 1.1 percentage points from 2024, while maternal custody fell to 45.3% and paternal custody remained at 3.4%. This marks a reversal from a decade ago, when shared custody stood at just 28.4%. Source: abces

Pension payments were ordered in 53.7% of divorces with children, with the father responsible in 52.1% of cases and shared in 44.1%. A compensatory pension was set in 6.4% of divorces, mostly (91.4%) paid by the husband. Source: euronewses

Regional and demographic patterns

Ceuta recorded the highest divorce rate (2.5 per 1,000 inhabitants), while Extremadura and Castilla y León had the lowest (1.4). In 80.4% of opposite-sex divorces, both spouses were Spanish. Same-sex divorces totalled 2,221 (2.7% of all divorces), with more female same-sex divorces (1,226) than male (995). Source: euronewses, infobae