Short answers, pulled from the story.
Only the Philippines and Vatican City do not allow divorce. In the Philippines, divorce for non-Muslim citizens is not permitted unless one spouse is an undocumented immigrant meeting specific legal conditions. Vatican City, governed by the head of the Catholic Church, prohibits it entirely.
In an at-fault divorce, one party must prove the other committed a specific wrong, such as adultery, cruelty, or desertion. In a no-fault divorce, no proof of wrongdoing is required; one or both spouses simply state that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. Countries including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States have adopted no-fault systems.
Women initiate divorce more often than men in most countries studied. In the United States, women file slightly more than two-thirds of cases. In England and Wales, a 2012 Office for National Statistics report found petitions from women outnumbered those from men by 2 to 1. In China, as of 2019, women initiated more than 70% of divorces.
A 2004 UK survey by Grant Thornton, based on responses from matrimonial lawyers, found that adultery was the leading cause at 27%, followed by family strain at 18%, domestic violence at 17%, and midlife crisis at 13%. Addictions and workaholism each accounted for 6% of cases.
Children from divorced families are twice as likely to drop out of high school as children from non-divorced families, and on average attain lower levels of socioeconomic status and income. Academic problems are most pronounced between the ages of 7 and 12, with reading test scores showing the strongest negative effect.
China introduced the cooling-off rule in January 2021 under article 1077 of its Civil Code. It requires couples to wait 30 days after filing before a divorce can proceed, during which either party may withdraw the application. After 30 days, both parties must appear in person to collect the divorce certificate or the application is treated as withdrawn. The Ministry of Civil Affairs reported a 72% drop in divorces in the quarter following the rule's implementation.