Share of births outside marriage in Denmark
Denmark: Share of births outside marriage was 54.7 in 2021. ▲ Rising
Latest (2021)
54.7
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
12th
of 43 countries
All-time high
54.7
in 2021
All-time low
7.8
in 1960
Years of data
62
1960–2021
Share of births outside marriage in Denmark, 1960–2021
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2021, share of births outside marriage in Denmark stood at 54.7. That is the highest value across all 62 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 11.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of births outside marriage in Denmark peaked at 54.7 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 7.8, in 1960.
Denmark ranks 12th of 43 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 62 years of available data.
Share of births outside marriage in Denmark, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 7.8 | — |
| 1961 | 8 | +2.6% |
| 1962 | 8.3 | +3.8% |
| 1963 | 8.9 | +7.2% |
| 1964 | 9.3 | +4.5% |
| 1965 | 9.5 | +2.2% |
| 1966 | 10.2 | +7.4% |
| 1967 | 11.1 | +8.8% |
| 1968 | 11.1 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 11.3 | +1.8% |
| 1970 | 11 | -2.7% |
| 1971 | 12.3 | +11.8% |
| 1972 | 14.4 | +17.1% |
| 1973 | 17.1 | +18.8% |
| 1974 | 18.8 | +9.9% |
| 1975 | 21.7 | +15.4% |
| 1976 | 24 | +10.6% |
| 1977 | 25.9 | +7.9% |
| 1978 | 27.9 | +7.7% |
| 1979 | 30.7 | +10.0% |
| 1980 | 33.2 | +8.1% |
| 1981 | 35.7 | +7.5% |
| 1982 | 38.3 | +7.3% |
| 1983 | 40.6 | +6.0% |
| 1984 | 41.9 | +3.2% |
| 1985 | 43 | +2.6% |
| 1986 | 43.9 | +2.1% |
| 1987 | 44.5 | +1.4% |
| 1988 | 44.7 | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 46.1 | +3.1% |
| 1990 | 46.4 | +0.7% |
| 1991 | 46.5 | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 46.4 | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 46.8 | +0.9% |
| 1994 | 46.9 | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 46.5 | -0.9% |
| 1996 | 46.3 | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 45.1 | -2.6% |
| 1998 | 44.8 | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 44.9 | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 44.6 | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 44.6 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 44.6 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 44.9 | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 45.4 | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 45.7 | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 46.4 | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 46.1 | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 46.2 | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 46.8 | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 47.3 | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 49 | +3.6% |
| 2012 | 50.6 | +3.3% |
| 2013 | 51.5 | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 52.5 | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 53.8 | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 54 | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 54.2 | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 54.2 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 54.1 | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 54.2 | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 54.7 | +0.9% |
Denmark compared with similar countries
- Denmark's 54.7 is above the median for high income countries, which is 40.23, 1.4× the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Denmark's 54.7 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 41.64, 1.3× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9.55 | 7.8 | 11.3 | 10 |
| 1970s | 20.38 | 11 | 30.7 | 10 |
| 1980s | 41.19 | 33.2 | 46.1 | 10 |
| 1990s | 46.06 | 44.8 | 46.9 | 10 |
| 2000s | 45.53 | 44.6 | 46.8 | 10 |
| 2010s | 52.12 | 47.3 | 54.2 | 10 |
| 2020s | 54.45 | 54.2 | 54.7 | 2 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
More population data for Denmark
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.1264 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -2.61 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.1264 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.1645 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 6,445 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.4223 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.2287 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate -0.123 (2100)
- Population density 146.58 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5 261,283 (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of births outside marriage in Denmark?
- Share of births outside marriage in Denmark was 54.7 in 2021, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of births outside marriage recorded in Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 54.7 in 2021.
- What is the lowest share of births outside marriage recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.8 in 1960.
- How does Denmark rank for share of births outside marriage?
- Denmark ranks 12th out of 43 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of births outside marriage rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Denmark data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of births outside marriage. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 62 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).