One-in-three births outside marriage

SIX times as many children are born outside marriage than in 1980.

The latest EU population figures reveal one-in-three Irish births was outside marriage. Our rate of 31% is 1% higher than the EU average. The comparative figure in 1980 was 5%.

Greece has the lowest rate of children born outside marriage with 4%, followed by traditional Catholic countries such as Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Spain. By contrast, over half of all children in Sweden are born outside marriage.