Iceland vs Norway: Share of children who were born outside of marriage
Iceland
69.4%
in 2019
Norway
58.5%
in 2020
Iceland rank
4th
Norway rank
7th
Share of children who were born outside of marriage over time
- Iceland
- Norway
How they compare
Iceland currently reports 69.4% against 58.5% in Norway, a difference of 10.9%.
That makes Iceland's figure about 1.2 times Norway's.
Across all 57 years both countries report, Iceland has been ahead every year.
Iceland ranks 4th and Norway ranks 7th of 42 countries.
Iceland has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iceland | Norway | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 27.2% | 4.6% | 22.7% | Iceland |
| 1970s | 33.7% | 10.0% | 23.8% | Iceland |
| 1980s | 47.1% | 24.4% | 22.8% | Iceland |
| 1990s | 60.0% | 45.5% | 14.5% | Iceland |
| 2000s | 64.1% | 52.0% | 12.1% | Iceland |
| 2010s | 68.1% | 55.8% | 12.3% | 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, Iceland or Norway?
- Iceland, at 69.4% against 58.5% in Norway as of 2019.
- What is the difference in share of children who were born outside of marriage between Iceland and Norway?
- 10.9%, with Iceland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and Norway?
- 57 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2019.
- How do Iceland and Norway rank globally for share of children who were born outside of marriage?
- Iceland ranks 4th and Norway ranks 7th 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.