Canary Islands no longer have the highest divorce rate

For the first time since 2019, the islands have ceased to be the Spanish autonomous community with the highest number of marital dissolutions, whether by nullity, separation, or divorce.

Canary Islands stopped being, in 2025, the autonomous community with the highest marriage‑breakup rate in Spain—a position it had held continuously since 2019. According to data released by the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), the archipelago finished the year with the second‑highest rate in the country, surpassed only by the Balearic Islands.

• From January to December, Canary Islands courts recorded 4,617 requests for separation, divorce or marital nullity, down from 5,232 in 2024, a 11.8 % year‑on‑year decline.
• In relative terms, the islands logged 205.2 requests per 100,000 inhabitants, above the national average of 171.9. The Balearic Islands led the ranking with 207.7, while Murcia took third place with 186.5.
• By province, judicialized marital breakups were slightly higher in Las Palmas (2,372 cases) than in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (2,240 cases).

The CGPJ report also shows nationwide trends for 2025:

• 84,424 marital‑dissolution petitions were filed across Spain, a 11.7 % drop from the previous year.
• The steepest decline occurred in non‑consensual divorces, which fell 24.7 % to 27,935 procedures.
• Consensual divorces decreased 3 %, reaching 53,466 cases.
• Non‑consensual separations fell 22.1 % to 784 matters, while consensual separations dropped 8 % to 2,167.
• Conversely, marital nullities rose 14.3 %, increasing from 63 to 72 cases nationwide.

Other family‑law procedures in 2025:

• Consensual modifications of measures grew 4.2 %, reaching 13,591 cases.
• Non‑consensual modifications declined 22.1 %, falling to 25,248 cases.
• Custody, guardianship and child‑support petitions for non‑marital children that were consensual rose 0.8 %, while the non‑consensual ones dropped 21.8 %.