Countries With the Highest Children with One Parent
Every country with a figure for children with one parent, ranked from highest to lowest. The top three are Lithuania (31.4%), France (26.6%) and United States (25.1%). The middle country of the 38 has 17.6%.
What this measures
Share of children living with a single parent, in % of children aged 0-17. Source: OECD. For this measure, no agreed better direction.
The share of children under 18 living in a household with exactly one adult reported as their parent, whether birth parent, step-parent or adoptive parent. Other adults may live there too, so a lone parent living with the grandparents still counts. European figures come every year from EU-SILC, an EU household survey that begins in 2005. Earlier figures came from a different survey, and Germany jumps from 17% to 21% where the two meet. So nothing before 2005 is used. Outside Europe the figure comes from the census and appears once a decade. Covers only OECD members, about forty countries. No "better" direction is set, for the same reason as the marriage rate.
The full ranking
Each country’s latest figure, from 2012–2023. The year beside each value says when it was measured.
| Rank | Country | Children with one parent | Year | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lithuania | 31.4% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 2 | France | 26.6% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 3 | United States | 25.1% | 2023 | North America |
| 4 | Mexico | 23.8% | 2020 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 5 | Norway | 23.4% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 6 | Sweden | 21.9% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 7 | Bulgaria | 21.6% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 8 | Latvia | 21.2% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 9 | United Kingdom | 20.8% | 2018 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 10 | Belgium | 20.1% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 11 | Finland | 19.5% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 12 | Canada | 19.1% | 2021 | North America |
| 13 | Iceland | 18.7% | 2019 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 14 | Hungary | 18.6% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 15 | Germany | 18.5% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 16 | Malta | 18.4% | 2023 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 17 | Australia | 18% | 2012 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 18 | Ireland | 17.9% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 19 | Denmark | 17.6% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 20 | Portugal | 17.2% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 21 | Spain | 15.8% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 22 | Switzerland | 14.9% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 23 | Czechia | 14.2% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 24 | Slovak Republic | 14.2% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 25 | Estonia | 14.1% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 26 | Italy | 14% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 27 | Netherlands | 13.9% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 28 | Luxembourg | 13.7% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 29 | Japan | 13.4% | 2020 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 30 | Cyprus | 11% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 31 | Romania | 11% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 32 | Austria | 10.1% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 33 | Slovenia | 9.5% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 34 | Korea, Rep. | 8.62% | 2020 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 35 | Croatia | 8.5% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 36 | Poland | 8.3% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 37 | Turkiye | 6.9% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 38 | Greece | 6.5% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
More on children with one parent
- Countries With the Lowest Children with One Parent
- Children with one parent by country: trend over time and what it goes with
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A ranking describes countries, not the people in them, and a high or low place does not by itself say why. All country rankings.