The divorce news from London is confusing.

First we were told that divorces were increasing because of bad economic times. The men who were out of work were rushing to get divorced, it was said, while their incomes were nonexistent. And the women who were married to still-employed husbands were rushing to get divorced while their husbands were still making big bucks.

As a rationale, those don’t really wash, since either spouse can apply to have maintenance and support adjusted as circumstances change.

And now there’s been a national study in the UK, and it turns out the divorce rate in England and Wales last year was the lowest it has been in 26 years, despite the travails of Paul McCartney and Heather Mills.

The rate fell to 11.9 divorces per thousand married people in 2007 — the lowest since 1981 — compared to 12.2 per thousand married people in 2006, according to the British Office for National Statistics.

“Since 1997 the average age at divorce in England and Wales has risen from 40.2 to 43.7 years for men and from 37.7 to 41.2 years for women, partly reflecting the rise in age at marriage,” the report said.

Divorces in the United States reached their peak in 1981 (blame the 70s) as well, with 5.3 per thousand of the total population. (In an apples to apples comparison, the United States has a higher divorce rate than Great Britain.)

The American divorce rate has been sinking ever since, hitting around 3.6 per thousand of the total population in 2005, the most recent year for which figures are available. U.S. figures are gathered from 46 states and the District of Columbia. Four states (California, Colorado, Indiana, and Louisiana) do not report divorce statistics.

Of course, these figures are based on the rate of divorce, not on the total number. Because the population is larger every year, a slightly smaller percent of a larger number still means there is a net increase in divorces.

The Census Bureau no longer records the number of divorces in the US, but a look at the raw numbers for 1998 and 2000 will show the trend:

Excluding the four states that don’t count divorce,

• In 1998 there were 947,384 divorces in the US.
• In 2000 there were 957,200 divorces in the US.

And that’s without a state like California where an estimated 160,000 divorces were filed in 2000. The California courts also estimate that some 100,000 children were involved in those divorce cases.

So the rate is going down, but the number of divorces continues to go up.

Another former British colony, Australia, has also reported a drop in divorces. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported a 6 percent drop from 2006 to 2007. The rate of divorce per thousand of the total population from 2.5 percent to 2.3 percent. Wives petitioned for 38 per cent of divorces, husbands for 27 percent, and the rest were filed jointly.

In Great Britain, wives petition for 68 percent of the divorces. Married people between the ages of 25 and 29 had the highest rate of divorce. But the average age of divorce in England and Wales is creeping upward over the last decade, from 40.2 to 43.7 for men, and from 37.7 to 41.2 for women. The age of divorce is going up for two possible reasons: the increasing age of first marriage, and the new trends toward older couples deciding to divorce rather than just sticking it out.

Forty-two civil partnerships in the UK were dissolved in 2007; surprisingly 14 were to male couples and 28 were to female couples.

And how does Great Britain compare to the rest of the world? In 2002, it ranked 13th in the percentage of divorces per marriages. Sweden was No. 1 in the world, the United States ranked seventh, right behind Australia, and ahead of Denmark.

To sum up: people are marrying later, and fewer people are marrying; divorce rates are dropping, but women are still starting the majority of divorce actions; and, at least in England and Wales, gay men are adjusting to married life better than lesbians.

Of course, if you are going through a divorce, it doesn’t matter if the rates are going down. You’re going through it, and it will most likely be one of the toughest years of your life, whether you have children or not.

We at FWW stand ready to help you. Is there anything in particular you would like to see us do?