Share of children living with a single parent in Sweden
Sweden: Share of children living with a single parent was 21.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of children living with a single parent in Sweden, 2004–2023
Source: OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sweden recorded 21.9% for share of children living with a single parent in 2023.
That represents a change of up 7.9% on the previous year and up 15.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children living with a single parent in Sweden peaked at 22.1% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 17.8%, in 2008.
Sweden ranks 5th of 34 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.
Share of children living with a single parent in Sweden, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 21.2% | — |
| 2005 | 20.2% | -4.7% |
| 2006 | 19.3% | -4.5% |
| 2007 | 18.3% | -5.2% |
| 2008 | 17.8% | -2.7% |
| 2009 | 18.8% | +5.6% |
| 2010 | 19.6% | +4.3% |
| 2011 | 18.9% | -3.6% |
| 2012 | 18.1% | -4.2% |
| 2013 | 19.0% | +5.0% |
| 2014 | 17.9% | -5.8% |
| 2015 | 19.4% | +8.4% |
| 2016 | 19.0% | -2.1% |
| 2017 | 18.8% | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 20.7% | +10.1% |
| 2019 | 22.1% | +6.8% |
| 2020 | 20.6% | -6.8% |
| 2021 | 19.6% | -4.9% |
| 2022 | 20.3% | +3.6% |
| 2023 | 21.9% | +7.9% |
Sweden compared with similar countries
- Sweden's 21.9% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 15.8%, 1.4× the median. (31 countries reporting)
- Sweden's 21.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 17.6%, 1.2× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 19.3% | 17.8% | 21.2% | 6 |
| 2010s | 19.4% | 17.9% | 22.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.6% | 19.6% | 21.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More reference data data for Sweden
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4328 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2237 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.68 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2063 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.68 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.9766 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.13 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 8.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.12 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children living with a single parent in Sweden?
- Share of children living with a single parent in Sweden was 21.9% 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 Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 22.1% in 2019.
- What is the lowest share of children living with a single parent recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.8% in 2008.
- How does Sweden rank for share of children living with a single parent?
- Sweden ranks 5th out of 34 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children living with a single parent rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sweden 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 — 20 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.