Aachen couples have highest national divorce rate

According to the study of divorce rate figures from the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis), the worst place for lovers to live is Aachen, where an average of more than four married couples out of 1,000 residents split up last year.

Kassel, where an average of just 1.38 couples per 1,000 city dwellers called it quits, was given the best success rate for matrimonial longevity.

Cologne, Hamburg and Berlin were also among the top connubial performers, with about two to three divorces out of 1,000 residents per year. With a rate of 1.96, Munich was the most marriage-friendly of the four major German metropolises.

Many factors contribute to the high proportion of divorces in certain towns, experts said in the study, with religious and cultural causes playing a central role.

“The more traditional a family is, the less likely it is to split up,” Eva Becker, a family law solicitor, told the magazine.

There is also a clear correlation between unemployment and divorce rates.

“If the stress of pending unemployment gives rise to arguments within a relationship, that situation can deteriorate and lead to a break-up,” Becker said.

The following list shows the divorce rate per 1,000 residents in Germany’s biggest towns:

1. Aachen 4.32

2. Osnabrück 4.01

3. Mönchengladbach 3.51

4. Leverkusen 3.47

5. Oldenburg 3.44

6. Krefeld 3.23

7. Halle (Saale) 3.04

8. Oberhausen 3.02

9. Bonn 3.01

10. Mülheim (Ruhr) 2.91

11. Düsseldorf 2.89

12. Solingen 2.84

13. Kiel 2.81

13. Braunschweig 2.81

15. Hamm (Westfalen) 2.80

16. Dortmund 2.72

17. Wuppertal 2.71

18. Essen 2.67

18. Lübeck 2.67

20. Gelsenkirchen 2.66

21. Nürnberg 2.65

22. Hagen 2.64

23. Herne 2.60

24. Hamburg 2.52

25. Bremen 2.51

25. Rostock 2.51

25. Bochum 2.51

25. Duisburg 2.51

29. Bielefeld 2.44

30. Cologne 2.40

31. Frankfurt (Main) 2.38

32. Magdeburg 2.35

33. Karlsruhe 2.33

34. Erfurt 2.32

35. Mannheim 2.26

36. Berlin 2.25

36. Ludwigshafen (Rhein) 2.25

38. Wiesbaden 2.17

39. Augsburg 2.16

40. Stuttgart 2.05

41. Mainz 2.03

42. Münster 2.02

43. Dresden 2.01

44. Munich 1.96

45. Freiburg (Breisgau) 1.64

46. Kassel 1.38