Costa Rica vs France: Share of children who were born outside of marriage
Costa Rica
72.5%
in 2020
France
62.2%
in 2020
Costa Rica rank
2nd
France rank
5th
Share of children who were born outside of marriage over time
- Costa Rica
- France
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 72.5% against 62.2% in France, a difference of 10.3%.
That makes Costa Rica's figure about 1.2 times France's.
Across all 23 years both countries report, Costa Rica has been ahead every year.
Costa Rica ranks 2nd and France ranks 5th of 42 countries.
Costa Rica has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | France | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 50.2% | 42.2% | 8.0% | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 59.3% | 48.4% | 10.9% | Costa Rica |
| 2010s | 69.8% | 58.3% | 11.5% | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 72.5% | 62.2% | 10.3% | Costa Rica |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children who were born outside of marriage, Costa Rica or France?
- Costa Rica, at 72.5% against 62.2% in France as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of children who were born outside of marriage between Costa Rica and France?
- 10.3%, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and France?
- 23 years are reported by both, from 1998 to 2020.
- How do Costa Rica and France rank globally for share of children who were born outside of marriage?
- Costa Rica ranks 2nd and France ranks 5th 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.