Bulgaria vs Iceland: Share of children who were born outside of marriage
Bulgaria
59.6%
in 2020
Iceland
69.4%
in 2019
Bulgaria rank
6th
Iceland rank
4th
Share of children who were born outside of marriage over time
- Bulgaria
- Iceland
How they compare
Iceland currently reports 69.4% against 59.6% in Bulgaria, a difference of 9.8%.
That makes Iceland's figure about 1.2 times Bulgaria's.
Across all 57 years both countries report, Iceland has been ahead every year.
Bulgaria ranks 6th and Iceland ranks 4th of 42 countries.
Iceland has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Bulgaria | Iceland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 8.9% | 27.2% | 18.4% | Iceland |
| 1970s | 9.7% | 33.7% | 24.0% | Iceland |
| 1980s | 11.1% | 47.1% | 36.0% | Iceland |
| 1990s | 24.3% | 60.0% | 35.7% | Iceland |
| 2000s | 47.2% | 64.1% | 16.9% | Iceland |
| 2010s | 57.4% | 68.1% | 10.7% | Iceland |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children who were born outside of marriage, Bulgaria or Iceland?
- Iceland, at 69.4% against 59.6% in Bulgaria as of 2019.
- What is the difference in share of children who were born outside of marriage between Bulgaria and Iceland?
- 9.8%, with Iceland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Bulgaria and Iceland?
- 57 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2019.
- How do Bulgaria and Iceland rank globally for share of children who were born outside of marriage?
- Bulgaria ranks 6th and Iceland ranks 4th 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.