Australia vs Ireland: Share of children who were born outside of marriage
Australia
36.5%
in 2020
Ireland
38.4%
in 2019
Australia rank
26th
Ireland rank
25th
Share of children who were born outside of marriage over time
- Australia
- Ireland
How they compare
Ireland currently reports 38.4% against 36.5% in Australia, a difference of 1.9%.
That makes Ireland's figure about 1.1 times Australia's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 45 shared years of data; in 1975 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 26th and Ireland ranks 25th of 42 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 4 and Ireland in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | Ireland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 10.7% | 4.1% | 6.5% | Australia |
| 1980s | 15.8% | 8.9% | 6.9% | Australia |
| 1990s | 25.9% | 22.4% | 3.5% | Australia |
| 2000s | 32.5% | 32.1% | 0.3% | Australia |
| 2010s | 34.6% | 36.2% | 1.6% | Ireland |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children who were born outside of marriage, Australia or Ireland?
- Ireland, at 38.4% against 36.5% in Australia as of 2019.
- What is the difference in share of children who were born outside of marriage between Australia and Ireland?
- 1.9%, with Ireland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and Ireland?
- 45 years are reported by both, from 1975 to 2019.
- How do Australia and Ireland rank globally for share of children who were born outside of marriage?
- Australia ranks 26th and Ireland ranks 25th of 42 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- OECD (2025); OECD (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of children who were born outside of marriage. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of all children born to mothers who were not married at the time of birth.