The divorce statistics are based on data on granted decrees of
divorce transmitted to the Population Register Centre by courts
of law. The statistics also include cases where a permanent
resident of Finland is granted a divorce by a foreign court. If
the divorce is granted abroad, it must be reported to the
register keeper for registration of divorce. Exceptions are
divorces granted to Finnish citizens in Sweden, on which the
Swedish register keeper notifies the Finnish counterpart
directly. A divorce granted to a Finnish citizen abroad usually
requires validation by the Helsinki Court of Appeal before
registration. Divorce decisions given in the Nordic Countries
and in the EU countries as of 1 March 2001 can be registered
without validation. As of 1980 'divorces' refer to the divorces
of females permanently resident in Finland, unless otherwise
indicated. The amendment to the Marriage Act (411/1987),
effective from 1 January 1988, simplified divorce proceedings.
Divorce figures began to rise towards the end