Broken marriages in Northern Ireland helped fuel another increase in the number of UK divorces in 2004 for the fourth successive year, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics in Britain.
Although there was a slight fall in England and Wales, in Northern Ireland divorces increased by 8.3 per cent, standing at 2,512 in 2004.
Divorces in Scotland also increased by 2.5 per cent, to 11,205, while in England and Wales they fell marginally by 0.1 per cent to 153,399 - a drop of 91 divorces.
The total number of UK divorces in 2004 increased by 0.2 per cent to 167,116 from 166,737 in 2003.
In comparison the Central Statistics Office figures for the State show there were 3,347 divorces last year and 1,258 judicial separations. The number of judicial separations has doubled since 1991, while divorce has trebled since 1997. However, Ireland still has one of the lowest divorce rates in Europe.