Germany vs Ireland: Share of children who were born outside of marriage
Germany
33.1%
in 2020
Ireland
38.4%
in 2019
Germany rank
28th
Ireland rank
25th
Share of children who were born outside of marriage over time
- Germany
- Ireland
How they compare
Ireland currently reports 38.4% against 33.1% in Germany, a difference of 5.3%.
That makes Ireland's figure about 1.2 times Germany's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 60 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Germany ahead.
Germany ranks 28th and Ireland ranks 25th of 42 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 3 and Ireland in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | Ireland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6.3% | 2.1% | 4.2% | Germany |
| 1970s | 8.7% | 3.5% | 5.2% | Germany |
| 1980s | 14.9% | 8.9% | 6.1% | Germany |
| 1990s | 16.9% | 22.4% | 5.6% | Ireland |
| 2000s | 28.4% | 32.1% | 3.7% | Ireland |
| 2010s | 34.4% | 36.2% | 1.8% | Ireland |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children who were born outside of marriage, Germany or Ireland?
- Ireland, at 38.4% against 33.1% in Germany as of 2019.
- What is the difference in share of children who were born outside of marriage between Germany and Ireland?
- 5.3%, with Ireland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Ireland?
- 60 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2019.
- How do Germany and Ireland rank globally for share of children who were born outside of marriage?
- Germany ranks 28th and Ireland ranks 25th 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.