Share of children living with a single parent in Germany
Germany: Share of children living with a single parent was 18.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of children living with a single parent in Germany, 2005–2023
Source: OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, share of children living with a single parent in Germany stood at 18.5%.
The figure is up 1.6% on the previous year and up 19.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children living with a single parent in Germany peaked at 21.4% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 14.4%, in 2007.
That places Germany 14th out of 34 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Share of children living with a single parent in Germany, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 17.1% | — |
| 2006 | 21.4% | +25.1% |
| 2007 | 14.4% | -32.7% |
| 2008 | 15.0% | +4.2% |
| 2009 | 15.1% | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 15.4% | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 15.6% | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 15.4% | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 15.5% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 15.6% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 16.0% | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 16.0% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 15.8% | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 14.9% | -5.7% |
| 2019 | 15.2% | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 18.9% | +24.3% |
| 2021 | 17.4% | -7.9% |
| 2022 | 18.2% | +4.6% |
| 2023 | 18.5% | +1.6% |
Germany compared with similar countries
- Germany's 18.5% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 15.8%, 1.2× the median. (31 countries reporting)
- Germany's 18.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 17.6%, 1.1× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of children living with a single parent in Germany changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | -32.7% | 21.4% | 14.4% |
| 2006 | +25.1% | 17.1% | 21.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.6% | 14.4% | 21.4% | 5 |
| 2010s | 15.5% | 14.9% | 16.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.2% | 17.4% | 18.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Germany
More reference data data for Germany
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 16.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 16.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 15.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 9.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.87 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 80.38 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 10.56 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children living with a single parent in Germany?
- Share of children living with a single parent in Germany was 18.5% 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 Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 21.4% in 2006.
- What is the lowest share of children living with a single parent recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.4% in 2007.
- How does Germany rank for share of children living with a single parent?
- Germany ranks 14th out of 34 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children living with a single parent rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Germany 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 — 19 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.