Brazil Registered Record Number of Divorces During Coronavirus Pandemic

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Between July and December last year, notaries throughout the country received 43,859 requests for marital dissolution. Living together in isolation is one of the main reasons for this phenomenon.

Brazil registered a record number of divorces during the second half of 2020, amid the coronavirus crisis that hit the world and the massive confinement of millions of people, according to data released last Thursday by the Brazilian Notary Association.

Between July and December last year, notaries throughout the country received 43,859 requests for marital dissolution, which represents a 15% increase compared to the 38,174 requests submitted over the same period in 2019.

This is the highest number in a single semester since the official notarial records began to be monitored in 2007.

The numbers show that the Covid-19 crisis, with over 214,000 deaths and 8.7 million people infected in Brazil also had an impact on the marital relations of Brazilians.

According to the organization, the figures reflect a greater level of coexistence of couples, who were forced to be confined and to share their lives 24 hours a day, due to the social isolation measures imposed by governments for months in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

“This atypical year of 2020 caused many changes, both in coexistence between people and in the provision of services to citizens,” explained the president of the Brazilian College of Notaries, Giselle Oliveira de Barros.

The organization pointed out that the implementation of an online platform for couples to file for divorces has helped with this increase, as it eased the formal separation process.

According to the survey, October was the month with the highest number of divorces, when over 7,600 were registered across Brazil.

However, year-on-year, the total number of marital dissolutions in 2020 was lower than in 2019.

According to the College, this is due to the fact that the country’s notaries closed their doors between March and April last year, when Brazil was experiencing the first wave of the pandemic and rigorous quarantines were implemented.

The study also showed that the number of divorces increased in 23 of the 27 Brazilian states; Santa Catarina, in the south of the country, saw marital dissolutions shoot up 95%.