Final answer:
The most commonly used divorce rate statistic, which compares the number of divorces to the number of new marriages in any given year, is the marriage-to-divorce ratio.
Step-by-step explanation:
The most commonly used divorce rate statistic, which compares the number of divorces to the number of new marriages in any given year, is the marriage-to-divorce ratio. This ratio is calculated by dividing the number of divorces by the number of new marriages in the same year.
For example, if there were 1000 new marriages and 400 divorces in a year, the marriage-to-divorce ratio would be 0.4 (400/1000). This ratio provides a measure of the stability of marriages and can indicate the likelihood of divorce.
It's important to note that the marriage-to-divorce ratio may not be an accurate reflection of the actual divorce rate, as it doesn't take into account the duration of marriages or the overall number of marriages in a given population.