Canada vs Switzerland: Share of children who were born outside of marriage
Canada
32.7%
in 2020
Switzerland
27.7%
in 2020
Canada rank
29th
Switzerland rank
32nd
Share of children who were born outside of marriage over time
- Canada
- Switzerland
How they compare
Canada currently reports 32.7% against 27.7% in Switzerland, a difference of 5.0%.
That makes Canada's figure about 1.2 times Switzerland's.
Across all 44 years both countries report, Canada has been ahead every year.
Canada ranks 29th and Switzerland ranks 32nd of 42 countries.
Canada has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Canada | Switzerland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6.6% | 4.0% | 2.6% | Canada |
| 1970s | 9.2% | 3.8% | 5.4% | Canada |
| 1990s | 29.9% | 7.4% | 22.5% | Canada |
| 2000s | 30.8% | 14.0% | 16.8% | Canada |
| 2010s | 33.5% | 22.5% | 10.9% | Canada |
| 2020s | 32.7% | 27.7% | 5.0% | Canada |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children who were born outside of marriage, Canada or Switzerland?
- Canada, at 32.7% against 27.7% in Switzerland as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of children who were born outside of marriage between Canada and Switzerland?
- 5.0%, with Canada ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and Switzerland?
- 44 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2020.
- How do Canada and Switzerland rank globally for share of children who were born outside of marriage?
- Canada ranks 29th and Switzerland ranks 32nd 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.