Is divorce legal in South Africa?
Heavily restricted
Divorce is legal but requires a long period of separation.
South Africa is one of 39 countries classified “Heavily restricted” for divorce — 39% of the 101 with data.
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Divorce law by country
- Last checked
- 15 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Read directly from the source’s own table, without interpretation.
Nearby countries
- Botswana
- Heavily restricted Divorce is legal but requires a long period of separation.
- Eswatini
- Heavily restricted Divorce is restricted to fault-based grounds only in Eswatini.
- Namibia
- Heavily restricted Divorce is restricted to fault-based grounds only in Namibia.
- Zimbabwe
- Heavily restricted Divorce is legal but requires a long period of separation.
- Mozambique
- Heavily restricted Divorce is legal but requires a long period of separation.
- Zambia
- Heavily restricted Divorce is legal but requires a long period of separation.
Other laws in South Africa
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Marriage legal
- Same-Sex Activity
- Legal
- Age of Consent
- 16–17
- Sex Work
- Illegal
- Pornography
- Restricted
- Same-Sex Adoption
- Joint adoption legal
- Incest Laws
- Criminal offense
- Marriage Age
- 18+
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.