For First Time, Joint Custody Leads Child-Custody Rulings in Brazil

Overview

• Joint custody accounted for 44.6% of judicial divorces involving minors in 2024, surpassing maternal sole custody at 42.6%, with paternal sole custody at about 2.8%.
• Courts issued nearly 82,200 joint-custody rulings covering roughly 118,800 children, according to the IBGE’s 2024 civil‑registry data.
• Brazil registered 428,301 divorces in 2024, a 2.8% decline from 2023, with about 82% handled in court and 18% finalized extrajudicially.
• Adoption of shared custody rose in every state, led proportionally by Amazonas, Mato Grosso and the Federal District, with the sharpest decade increases in Sergipe, Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais; Roraima recorded the lowest share.
• The average span from marriage to divorce fell to 13.8 years in 2024, and IBGE notes the single‑year drop in divorces is not yet a confirmed trend.