Which has higher share of children living with a single parent, Sweden or United States of America?

United States of America, at 25.1% against 21.9% in Sweden as of 2023.

What is the difference in share of children living with a single parent between Sweden and United States of America?

3.2%, with United States of America ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Sweden and United States of America?

17 years are reported by both, from 2007 to 2023.

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.

Sweden vs United States of America: Share of children living with a single parent

Sweden

21.9%

in 2023

United States of America

25.1%

in 2023

Sweden rank

5th

United States of America rank

3rd

Share of children living with a single parent over time

Sweden
United States of America

How they compare

United States of America currently reports 25.1% against 21.9% in Sweden, a difference of 3.2%.

That makes United States of America's figure about 1.1 times Sweden's.

Across all 17 years both countries report, United States of America has been ahead every year.

Sweden ranks 5th and United States of America ranks 3rd of 34 countries.

United States of America has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Sweden	United States of America	Difference	Ahead
2000s	18.3%	26.1%	7.8%	United States of America
2010s	19.4%	27.1%	7.8%	United States of America
2020s	20.6%	25.8%	5.2%	United States of America

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher share of children living with a single parent, Sweden or United States of America?: United States of America, at 25.1% against 21.9% in Sweden as of 2023.
What is the difference in share of children living with a single parent between Sweden and United States of America?: 3.2%, with United States of America ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Sweden and United States of America?: 17 years are reported by both, from 2007 to 2023.
How do Sweden and United States of America rank globally for share of children living with a single parent?: Sweden ranks 5th and United States of America 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.

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Sweden vs United States of America: Share of children living with a single parent. Statizoid, drawing on OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 31 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/share-of-children-living-with-a-single-parent/sweden/united-states/

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<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/share-of-children-living-with-a-single-parent/sweden/united-states/">Sweden vs United States of America: Share of children living with a single parent</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Share of children living with a single parent
Unit: %
Source: OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 34 places, 630 data points, 2001–2023
Last refreshed: 28 August 2026

Percentage of children aged 0-17 living with a single parent.