Japan vs Republic of Korea: Share of children who were born outside of marriage
Japan
2.4%
in 2020
Republic of Korea
3.0%
in 2021
Japan rank
42nd
Republic of Korea rank
40th
Share of children who were born outside of marriage over time
- Japan
- Republic of Korea
How they compare
Republic of Korea currently reports 3.0% against 2.4% in Japan, a difference of 0.6%.
That makes Republic of Korea's figure about 1.2 times Japan's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 24 shared years of data; in 1985 it was Republic of Korea ahead.
Japan ranks 42nd and Republic of Korea ranks 40th of 42 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 3 and Republic of Korea in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | Republic of Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1990s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 0.0% | Japan |
| 2000s | 1.9% | 1.6% | 0.3% | Japan |
| 2010s | 2.2% | 2.1% | 0.2% | Japan |
| 2020s | 2.4% | 2.5% | 0.1% | Republic of Korea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children who were born outside of marriage, Japan or Republic of Korea?
- Republic of Korea, at 3.0% against 2.4% in Japan as of 2021.
- What is the difference in share of children who were born outside of marriage between Japan and Republic of Korea?
- 0.6%, with Republic of Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Republic of Korea?
- 24 years are reported by both, from 1985 to 2020.
- How do Japan and Republic of Korea rank globally for share of children who were born outside of marriage?
- Japan ranks 42nd and Republic of Korea ranks 40th 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.