The number of divorces in New Zealand has hit its lowest level in two decades.
Latest figures from Statistics New Zealand show there were 8,700 divorces granted by the Family Court in 2009 - the lowest number since 1989.
Slightly fewer people got married, with 21,600 couples saying "I do", and there were 312 civil unions - 78% of those were same sex.
The divorce figures translate to a rate of about one divorce per 100 marriages.
However relationship property lawyer Deborah Hollings QC says the divorce figure has become meaningless because the rate of marriage is so low, with New Zealanders getting married at one third of the rate they did in 1971.
She says attitudes to long-term relationships can no longer be measured on divorce statistics, which don't include the number of people living in de facto relationships.
In 1980 the Family Proceedings Act was passed, allowing marriages to be dissolved on the grounds of irreconcilable differences.
