Share of births outside marriage in Sweden

Sweden: Share of births outside marriage was 55.2 in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
55.2
Change on year
up 1.3%
World rank
10th
of 42 countries
All-time high
56
in 2002
All-time low
11.3
in 1960
Years of data
61
1960–2020

Share of births outside marriage in Sweden, 1960–2020

102030405060196019902020

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Sweden recorded 55.2 for share of births outside marriage in 2020.

The figure is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 1.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of births outside marriage in Sweden peaked at 56 in 2002 and was at its lowest, 11.3, in 1960.

Sweden ranks 10th of 42 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 61 years of available data.

Share of births outside marriage in Sweden, year by year

Annual values for Share of births outside marriage in Sweden, 1960 to 2020.
Year Value Change
1960 11.3
1961 11.7 +3.5%
1962 12.4 +6.0%
1963 12.6 +1.6%
1964 13.1 +4.0%
1965 13.8 +5.3%
1966 14.5 +5.1%
1967 15.1 +4.1%
1968 16 +6.0%
1969 16.4 +2.5%
1970 18.6 +13.4%
1971 21.9 +17.7%
1972 25.4 +16.0%
1973 28.6 +12.6%
1974 31.7 +10.8%
1975 32.8 +3.5%
1976 33.5 +2.1%
1977 34.7 +3.6%
1978 35.9 +3.5%
1979 37.5 +4.5%
1980 39.7 +5.9%
1981 41.2 +3.8%
1982 42 +1.9%
1983 43.6 +3.8%
1984 44.6 +2.3%
1985 46.4 +4.0%
1986 48.4 +4.3%
1987 49.9 +3.1%
1988 50.9 +2.0%
1989 51.8 +1.8%
1990 47 -9.3%
1991 48.2 +2.6%
1992 49.5 +2.7%
1993 50.4 +1.8%
1994 51.6 +2.4%
1995 53 +2.7%
1996 53.9 +1.7%
1997 54.1 +0.4%
1998 54.7 +1.1%
1999 55.3 +1.1%
2000 55.3 +0.0%
2001 55.5 +0.4%
2002 56 +0.9%
2003 56 +0.0%
2004 55.4 -1.1%
2005 55.4 +0.0%
2006 55.5 +0.2%
2007 54.8 -1.3%
2008 54.7 -0.2%
2009 54.4 -0.5%
2010 54.2 -0.4%
2011 54.3 +0.2%
2012 54.5 +0.4%
2013 54.4 -0.2%
2014 54.6 +0.4%
2015 54.7 +0.2%
2016 54.9 +0.4%
2017 54.5 -0.7%
2018 54.5 +0.0%
2019 54.5 +0.0%
2020 55.2 +1.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 13.69 11.3 16.4 10
1970s 30.06 18.6 37.5 10
1980s 45.85 39.7 51.8 10
1990s 51.77 47 55.3 10
2000s 55.3 54.4 56 10
2010s 54.51 54.2 54.9 10
2020s 55.2 55.2 55.2 1

Countries ranked near Sweden

  1. 7 Norway 58.5 compare
  2. 8 Portugal 57.9 compare
  3. 9 Slovenia 56.5 compare
  4. 11 Denmark 54.2 compare
  5. 12 Estonia 53.7 compare
  6. 13 Netherlands 53.5 compare

See the full ranking of 42 places →

More population data for Sweden

All data for Sweden →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of births outside marriage in Sweden?
Share of births outside marriage in Sweden was 55.2 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of births outside marriage recorded in Sweden?
The highest recorded value was 56 in 2002.
What is the lowest share of births outside marriage recorded in Sweden?
The lowest recorded value was 11.3 in 1960.
How does Sweden rank for share of births outside marriage?
Sweden ranks 10th out of 42 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of births outside marriage rising or falling in Sweden?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sweden 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.

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Share of births outside marriage in Sweden. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 25 August 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-births-outside-marriage/sweden/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of births outside marriage
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
42 places, 2,139 data points, 1960–2021
Last refreshed