Kolk, Martin & Kridahl, L. | 2025
Family Transitions, 66(8), 517–531
Divorce among older adults has increased in many Western countries, even as rates among younger individuals have stabilized or declined. This study examines trends in late-life divorce in Sweden, a country that has undergone significant changes in family life and union stability throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. We focus on individuals aged 60 and older, using Swedish register data from 2000 to 2022 for cohorts born between 1940 and 1960. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was used to visualize divorce trends by sex and age groups, and event history models assessed how marital duration, higher order marriages, and educational attainment influenced divorce risk across cohorts. Our findings reveal a modest increase in divorce after age 60 over time. Individuals in higher order marriages and those with shorter marital durations faced a higher risk of divorce. We also observed changing educational patterns: Earlier cohorts showed higher divorce risks among women with higher education levels, whereas in more recent cohorts, those with lower education levels had an increased divorce risk. These results suggest that the rise in late-life divorce in Sweden is partly driven by the growing proportion of shorter marriages, greater instability in higher order marriages, and shifting associations with educational attainment across cohorts.
