Nearly one in ten live-born babies born to single mothers

Nearly one in every ten live-born babies were born to single mothers last year. Nine in ten were born to couples living together.

Four in ten children born out of wedlock

Four in ten out of the 185 thousand babies born last year were born to mothers who were not married.

Proportion of live-born babies by marital status of the mother, 2009

First child often born out of wedlock

First-born children are often born to unmarried mothers. Four in every ten first-born children have unmarried mothers living together with their partners and nearly one in ten are born to single mothers. When the second or third child is born, more mothers are married.

Proportion of live-born babies by marital status of the mother and rank number of the child, 2009

Mainly in Flevoland, South Holland and North Holland

Flevoland, South Holland and North Holland had the highest proportion of babies born alive to single mothers. Various large cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Almere are situated in these provinces.

People with an Antillean, Aruban and/or Surinamese background relatively often live in large cities and one-parent families are more common among these ethnic groups. The provinces of Zeeland, Overijssel and Gelderland have the highest proportion of married mothers living with their partners.

Live-born babies by marital status of the mother and province

Mila van Huis and Suzanne Loozen