Share of children living with a single parent in Denmark
Denmark: Share of children living with a single parent was 17.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of children living with a single parent in Denmark, 2003–2023
Source: OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Denmark recorded 17.6% for share of children living with a single parent in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 21 years on record.
The figure is down 9.3% on the previous year and down 18.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children living with a single parent in Denmark peaked at 26.1% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 17.6%, in 2023.
That places Denmark 17th out of 34 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Share of children living with a single parent in Denmark, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 26.1% | — |
| 2004 | 24.5% | -6.1% |
| 2005 | 24.0% | -2.0% |
| 2006 | 24.5% | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 24.9% | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 23.9% | -4.0% |
| 2009 | 25.0% | +4.6% |
| 2010 | 25.0% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 24.3% | -2.8% |
| 2012 | 21.5% | -11.5% |
| 2013 | 21.5% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 22.3% | +3.7% |
| 2015 | 25.8% | +15.7% |
| 2016 | 23.5% | -8.9% |
| 2017 | 20.4% | -13.2% |
| 2018 | 20.6% | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 20.4% | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 18.2% | -10.8% |
| 2021 | 18.4% | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 19.4% | +5.4% |
| 2023 | 17.6% | -9.3% |
Denmark compared with similar countries
- Denmark's 17.6% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 15.8%, 1.1× the median. (31 countries reporting)
- Denmark's 17.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 17.6%, 1.0× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 24.7% | 23.9% | 26.1% | 7 |
| 2010s | 22.5% | 20.4% | 25.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.4% | 17.6% | 19.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
More reference data data for Denmark
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.1915 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4109 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 2.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 12.99 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.24 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children living with a single parent in Denmark?
- Share of children living with a single parent in Denmark was 17.6% in 2023, according to OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children living with a single parent recorded in Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 26.1% in 2003.
- What is the lowest share of children living with a single parent recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.6% in 2023.
- How does Denmark rank for share of children living with a single parent?
- Denmark ranks 17th out of 34 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children living with a single parent rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Denmark data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children living with a single parent. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of children aged 0-17 living with a single parent.