Norway vs United States: Share of children living with a single parent
Norway
23.4%
in 2023
United States
25.1%
in 2023
Norway rank
4th
United States rank
3rd
Share of children living with a single parent over time
- Norway
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 25.1% against 23.4% in Norway, a difference of 1.7%.
That makes United States's figure about 1.1 times Norway's.
Across all 17 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
Norway ranks 4th and United States ranks 3rd of 34 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Norway | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 19.2% | 26.1% | 6.9% | United States |
| 2010s | 19.0% | 27.1% | 8.1% | United States |
| 2020s | 21.1% | 25.8% | 4.7% | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children living with a single parent, Norway or United States?
- United States, at 25.1% against 23.4% in Norway as of 2023.
- What is the difference in share of children living with a single parent between Norway and United States?
- 1.7%, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Norway and United States?
- 17 years are reported by both, from 2007 to 2023.
- How do Norway and United States rank globally for share of children living with a single parent?
- Norway ranks 4th and United States ranks 3rd of 34 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of children living with a single parent. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Percentage of children aged 0-17 living with a single parent.