Share of Children Born Outside Marriage | OECD Countries 1960-2020

This bar chart race shows the annual percentage of children born outside marriage in OECD countries from 1960 to 2020, highest and lowest.Show more

Countries are shown from when and to data is available, and as they exist today (USSR and Yugoslav republics, Czechoslovakia).
Colombia, which became member in 2020, is excluded.
Data from Japan is interpolated in 5 year intervals until 2001.

The share of children born outside marriage in OECD countries has seen a significant increase from 1960 to 2020. In the mid-20th century, the proportion of children born outside marriage was relatively low across OECD nations. However, societal shifts, including changes in attitudes towards marriage and family structures, have led to a steady rise in non-marital births over the decades. Factors such as increased acceptance of cohabitation, higher rates of divorce, and changing cultural norms have contributed to this trend. By 2020, a substantial portion of children in OECD countries were being born to unmarried parents, reflecting the evolving dynamics of family life in the modern era.

Data source: OECD

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Data visualization created with flourish.studio