France vs Iceland: Share of children who were born outside of marriage
France
62.2%
in 2020
Iceland
69.4%
in 2019
France rank
5th
Iceland rank
4th
Share of children who were born outside of marriage over time
- France
- Iceland
How they compare
Iceland currently reports 69.4% against 62.2% in France, a difference of 7.2%.
That makes Iceland's figure about 1.1 times France's.
Across all 19 years both countries report, Iceland has been ahead every year.
France ranks 5th and Iceland ranks 4th of 42 countries.
Iceland has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | France | Iceland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 42.2% | 63.2% | 21.0% | Iceland |
| 2000s | 48.4% | 64.1% | 15.7% | Iceland |
| 2010s | 58.4% | 68.1% | 9.8% | 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, France or Iceland?
- Iceland, at 69.4% against 62.2% in France as of 2019.
- What is the difference in share of children who were born outside of marriage between France and Iceland?
- 7.2%, with Iceland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for France and Iceland?
- 19 years are reported by both, from 1998 to 2019.
- How do France and Iceland rank globally for share of children who were born outside of marriage?
- France ranks 5th 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.