Statistics again.

News item - divorce rates for last year are down by 8%. What does this mean? I've muttered before about using percentage figures in isolation, and here's a case in point. The actual drop is from around 167,000 to 155,000. Not really all that significant. Also the statistic is pretty meaningless unless you take into account current attitudes towards marriage. These days, when "trial" marriages are accepted as the norm, couples tend not to actually get married until they are sure about their compatibility - so fewer divorces. Indeed, perhaps the surprise is that, given the way society has changed, divorce rates have continued to hold at around the 150,000 - 160,000 mark since the 1980's.