Church tribunals declared marriages null in 80 percent of first-instance cases in 2024

Statistics on marriage nullity published in 2026 set out how these cases are handled in Church tribunals around the world. The analysis, based on data from the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae, the Vatican's statistical yearbook, records variations between countries, regions and dioceses. A declaration of nullity means that, after a canonical process, a tribunal has found that the marriage was not valid from the start. It is not the same as a civil divorce.

The United States has historically accounted for a large share of nullity cases. In the 1970s, up to 80 percent of declarations of nullity worldwide were granted there, even though American Catholics made up less than 7 percent of the global Catholic population. That share has fallen over time. In 2016 it was still above 50 percent, and in 2024 it stood at around 20 percent.

Three canonical procedures

The figures cover three types of canonical procedure. The briefer process, introduced by Pope Francis in 2015, is used when both spouses petition together and the evidence is clear. In 2024 tribunals issued 1,786 judgments through this process. Brazil had the most, with 566 cases, or 22 percent of the world total.

The documentary process, used when there is a clear impediment, produced 2,627 first-instance judgments in 2024, more than half of them in the United States. The ordinary process, which requires a fuller investigation, handled 46,452 first-instance cases, with 39,393 declarations of nullity and 3,563 judgments confirming the validity of the marriage.

Uneven geographic distribution

The Americas had 43,763 cases pending at the start of 2024, with 32,327 new cases and 27,616 completed. Europe had 17,707 pending at the start of the year, 11,508 new and 11,919 completed. Asia had 6,244 pending cases, Africa 4,667 and Oceania 325.

In Latin America, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia recorded the highest numbers. Brazil had 14,296 ordinary cases pending in 2024, Mexico 5,050 and Colombia 4,886. Dioceses in the United States handled around 16,000 cases, with high levels of activity in dioceses with larger Hispanic populations.

Grounds for nullity and outcomes

Not every case ends in a declaration of nullity. Of the 46,452 cases completed in 2024, 39,393 ended in nullity, 3,563 confirmed the marriage bond, 2,015 lapsed and 1,481 were withdrawn. At second instance, tribunals issued 232 confirmations and 614 declarations of nullity.

The data show that 80 percent of first-instance judgments and more than 96 percent of second-instance judgments are in favor of nullity. Defects and flaws in consent are the most common grounds, at 99 percent. Of those, 90 percent involve incapacity to consent through a grave lack of discretion of judgment or an inability to assume the essential obligations of marriage, under canon 1095 of the Code of Canon Law.