What percentage of interracial marriages end in divorce?
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The interracial marriage divorce rate is 15.1% higher compared to same-race marriages.
After 10 years of marriage, interracial divorce statistics show a 40.2% divorce rate.
Compared with a 34.9% divorce rate among couples who married within their race.
Anti-miscegenation laws were legal provisions in the US that prohibited interracial marriage.
These laws were enforced in many states, with some even banning cohabitation and sexual relations between different races.
The Loving v. Virginia case , decided in 1967, marked a major change.
It involved an interracial couple, Richard and Mildred Loving, who challenged Virginia’s anti-miscegenation law.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Lovings, declaring such laws unconstitutional.
This landmark case effectively ended legal barriers to interracial marriage across the US.
After the legalization of interracial marriage, social acceptance slowly began to shift.
Despite legal freedom, interracial couples faced significant social stigma and discrimination.
However, attitudes have become more accepting over time, and the number of interracial marriages has steadily increased.
The number of interracial marriages in the United States has been rising over the years.
In 1967, only 3% of all newlyweds were in interracial marriages.
This figure climbed to 7% by 1980 and reached 17% by 2015.
In terms of actual numbers, more than 670,000 newlyweds in 2015 married someone of a different race or ethnicity, up from about 230,000 in 1980.
Different racial and ethnic groups have seen varying trends.
The rates of interracial marriage among black and white newlyweds have increased, more than tripling for black newlyweds (from 5% to 18%).
And more than doubling for white newlyweds (from 4% to 11%) from 1980 to 2015.
However, the rates for Hispanic and Asian newlyweds have remained stable.
(Despite these groups being more likely to intermarry than black or white newlyweds.)
29% of Asian newlyweds and 27% of Hispanic newlyweds have a spouse of a different race or ethnicity.
Factors driving the increase in interracial marriage include population growth among Hispanic and Asian populations in the U.S., as well as changes in society and laws.
Since 1980, the share of all newlyweds that were Hispanic rose from 8% to 17%, and the share that were Asian grew from 2% to 6%.
However, the size of a racial or ethnic group alone can’t fully explain intermarriage patterns.
Interracial couples generally have higher divorce rates than intraracial couples.
A study based on the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth found that interracial couples had a 41% chance of separation or divorce after 10 years of marriage, compared to 31% for couples who married within their race.
In particular, marriages between black and white partners were most likely to end in divorce, with an 18% probability over 10 years.
For mixed-race couples in general, the divorce rate was 40%.
Among unions where one spouse is black and the other is white, 36% ended in divorce, and for mixed-race couples, this number increased to 52%.
However, the divorce rates can vary significantly depending on the specific racial combination.
Marriages between Hispanics and non-Hispanics had the lowest probability of ending in divorce, at 7%.
A study found elevated divorce rates for Latino/white intermarriages but not for black/white intermarriages.
Seventy-two percent of endogamous Latino marriages remained intact at 15 years, but only 58% of Latino husband/white wife and 64% of white husband/Latina wife marriages were still intact.
Compared to White/White couples, White female/Black male, and White female/Asian male marriages were more prone to divorce.
Those involving non-White females and White males and Hispanics and non-Hispanic persons had similar or lower risks of divorce.
Factors that might affect these divorce rates include the presence of children and economic hardship.
Mixed-race couples are more likely to have children together, which can increase the chances of experiencing marital strife and financial difficulties.
Black individuals may face more economic hardship than others, which can contribute to problems in a marriage.
