Ireland vs Italy: Share of children who were born outside of marriage
Ireland
38.4%
in 2019
Italy
33.8%
in 2020
Ireland rank
25th
Italy rank
27th
Share of children who were born outside of marriage over time
- Ireland
- Italy
How they compare
Ireland currently reports 38.4% against 33.8% in Italy, a difference of 4.6%.
That makes Ireland's figure about 1.1 times Italy's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 60 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Italy ahead.
Ireland ranks 25th and Italy ranks 27th of 42 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Ireland averaged higher in 5 and Italy in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ireland | Italy | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.1% | 2.1% | 0.0% | Italy |
| 1970s | 3.5% | 2.9% | 0.6% | Ireland |
| 1980s | 8.9% | 5.2% | 3.7% | Ireland |
| 1990s | 22.4% | 7.8% | 14.6% | Ireland |
| 2000s | 32.1% | 14.6% | 17.6% | Ireland |
| 2010s | 36.2% | 29.0% | 7.2% | 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, Ireland or Italy?
- Ireland, at 38.4% against 33.8% in Italy as of 2019.
- What is the difference in share of children who were born outside of marriage between Ireland and Italy?
- 4.6%, with Ireland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ireland and Italy?
- 60 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2019.
- How do Ireland and Italy rank globally for share of children who were born outside of marriage?
- Ireland ranks 25th and Italy ranks 27th 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.