Latvia vs United States of America: Share of children who were born outside of marriage
Latvia
39.5%
in 2020
United States of America
40.5%
in 2020
Latvia rank
24th
United States of America rank
23rd
Share of children who were born outside of marriage over time
- Latvia
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 40.5% against 39.5% in Latvia, a difference of 1.0%.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 61 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Latvia ahead.
Latvia ranks 24th and United States of America ranks 23rd of 42 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Latvia averaged higher in 3 and United States of America in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Latvia | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 12.0% | 7.5% | 4.6% | Latvia |
| 1970s | 11.8% | 13.9% | 2.1% | United States of America |
| 1980s | 14.3% | 22.1% | 7.8% | United States of America |
| 1990s | 27.8% | 31.4% | 3.6% | United States of America |
| 2000s | 43.4% | 36.8% | 6.6% | Latvia |
| 2010s | 42.3% | 40.2% | 2.1% | Latvia |
| 2020s | 39.5% | 40.5% | 1.0% | 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, Latvia or United States of America?
- United States of America, at 40.5% against 39.5% in Latvia as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of children who were born outside of marriage between Latvia and United States of America?
- 1.0%, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Latvia and United States of America?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2020.
- How do Latvia and United States of America rank globally for share of children who were born outside of marriage?
- Latvia ranks 24th 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.