Australia vs United States of America: Share of children who were born outside of marriage
Australia
36.5%
in 2020
United States of America
40.5%
in 2020
Australia rank
26th
United States of America rank
23rd
Share of children who were born outside of marriage over time
- Australia
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 40.5% against 36.5% in Australia, a difference of 4.0%.
That makes United States of America's figure about 1.1 times Australia's.
Across all 46 years both countries report, United States of America has been ahead every year.
Australia ranks 26th and United States of America ranks 23rd of 42 countries.
United States of America has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 10.7% | 15.6% | 4.9% | United States of America |
| 1980s | 15.8% | 22.1% | 6.2% | United States of America |
| 1990s | 25.9% | 31.4% | 5.5% | United States of America |
| 2000s | 32.5% | 36.8% | 4.3% | United States of America |
| 2010s | 34.6% | 40.2% | 5.6% | United States of America |
| 2020s | 36.5% | 40.5% | 4.0% | United States of America |
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 United States of America?
- United States of America, at 40.5% against 36.5% in Australia as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of children who were born outside of marriage between Australia and United States of America?
- 4.0%, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and United States of America?
- 46 years are reported by both, from 1975 to 2020.
- How do Australia and United States of America rank globally for share of children who were born outside of marriage?
- Australia ranks 26th and United States of America ranks 23rd 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.