Ireland vs United States of America: Share of children who were born outside of marriage
Ireland
38.4%
in 2019
United States of America
40.5%
in 2020
Ireland rank
25th
United States of America rank
23rd
Share of children who were born outside of marriage over time
- Ireland
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 40.5% against 38.4% in Ireland, a difference of 2.1%.
That makes United States of America's figure about 1.1 times Ireland's.
Across all 60 years both countries report, United States of America has been ahead every year.
Ireland ranks 25th and United States of America ranks 23rd of 42 countries.
United States of America has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ireland | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.1% | 7.5% | 5.4% | United States of America |
| 1970s | 3.5% | 13.9% | 10.3% | United States of America |
| 1980s | 8.9% | 22.1% | 13.2% | United States of America |
| 1990s | 22.4% | 31.4% | 9.0% | United States of America |
| 2000s | 32.1% | 36.8% | 4.6% | United States of America |
| 2010s | 36.2% | 40.2% | 4.1% | United States of America |
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 United States of America?
- United States of America, at 40.5% against 38.4% in Ireland as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of children who were born outside of marriage between Ireland and United States of America?
- 2.1%, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ireland and United States of America?
- 60 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2019.
- How do Ireland and United States of America rank globally for share of children who were born outside of marriage?
- Ireland ranks 25th and United States of America ranks 23rd 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.