TOP 10 Countries by Cohabiting Unmarried Couples Share (2025)
Cohabiting unions are couples who live together in the same household in an intimate relationship but are not married (and not in a registered civil partnership). Using harmonised census and survey data, the OECD and Eurostat estimate what share of adults live in this type of union. On average across OECD countries, about 10 percent of adults aged 20+ live with a partner in a cohabiting union – but in some countries the share is almost double that.
Table 1. Adults living in a cohabiting union, TOP 10 countries (adults 20+, %)
3-column table • mobile-friendly cards| Rank | Country | Adults (20+) living in a cohabiting union (% of adults) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden | 19.2 |
| 2 | Estonia | 16.6 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 16.0 |
| 4 | Norway | 14.9 |
| 5 | France | 14.7 |
| 6 | Denmark | 14.1 |
| 7 | Netherlands | 13.7 |
| 8 | Canada | 12.4 |
| 9 | Iceland | 12.4 |
| 10 | United Kingdom | 12.3 |
Notes: Figures are based on OECD Family Database Table SF3.3 and related census data (around 2011), showing the share of adults aged 20+ living in a cohabiting couple household. They are interpreted here as a structural snapshot for the mid-2010s to early-2020s and used as an indicative ranking for “around 2025”.
High cohabitation countries are also countries where partnership trajectories have diversified the most. In Sweden, France and the Nordic region, cohabitation is not just a prelude to marriage for young couples – it is a common long-term alternative, often with children. In countries with lower cohabitation rates, marriage retains a stronger institutional role, and living together without marriage is still less frequent or more concentrated among younger adults.
These differences reflect a combination of legal frameworks (for example, recognition of cohabiting partners in social security and inheritance law), housing markets, labour-market opportunities for women, and cultural norms around religion and family. Once the share of cohabiting unions reaches the levels seen in Sweden or France, it tends to be accompanied by a redefinition of “family” in policy and public debate: benefits, parental leave and tax credits are increasingly designed to be neutral to marital status.
Cohabitation and births outside marriage: how strongly are they connected?
One of the clearest consequences of the rise in cohabitation is the shift of childbearing outside marriage. In many high-cohabitation countries, more than half of children are now born to unmarried mothers – most of them to cohabiting couples. OECD and Eurostat data show that across the OECD, roughly four in ten births take place outside marriage, and in a growing group of countries the share exceeds 50 percent.
The table below brings these dimensions together for the same ten countries: the share of adults in cohabiting unions (from Table 1) and the share of births that occur outside marriage (latest available data, mostly 2019–2024). While the relationship is not perfect, there is a strong positive association: where cohabitation is more common, births outside marriage are generally more common too.
| Country | Adults 20+ in cohabiting unions (%) | Births outside marriage (% of all births, latest) |
|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 19.2 | 57.4 |
| Estonia | 16.6 | 53.8 |
| New Zealand | 16.0 | 48.4 |
| Norway | 14.9 | 61.2 |
| France | 14.7 | 58.5 |
| Denmark | 14.1 | 54.7 |
| Netherlands | 13.7 | 42.1 |
| Canada | 12.4 | 29.0 |
| Iceland | 12.4 | 69.4 |
| United Kingdom | 12.3 | 47.6 |
Notes: Cohabitation shares: OECD Family Database SF3.3 (around 2011; adults 20+ in cohabiting couples). Births outside marriage: latest values from OECD Family Database SF2.4 and World Population Review’s Out of Wedlock Births by Country 2025
(mostly 2019–2024).
What does the link between cohabitation and non-marital births tell us?
1. Cohabitation has become a “normal” setting for family life in high-cohabitation countries. In Iceland, Norway, Sweden and France, most non-marital births occur to parents who are living together. Marriage is no longer a prerequisite for starting a family, and legal frameworks increasingly treat children similarly regardless of parents’ marital status.
2. Yet high non-marital birth rates do not automatically imply a weak two-parent model. Many children born outside marriage still live with both parents in a stable cohabiting union. The real issue is union stability: comparative studies show that cohabiting unions tend to be more fragile than marriages, which means children born to cohabiting parents face a higher risk of experiencing parental separation over time.
3. Medium-cohabitation countries reveal intermediate patterns. In the Netherlands, Canada and the United Kingdom, cohabitation is widespread but not as dominant as in Scandinavia. Non-marital birth shares are in the 30–50 percent range, reflecting both the spread of cohabiting parenthood and the persistence of marriage as a preferred setting for raising children.
4. Social policy design matters. Nordic welfare states explicitly build benefits around the child rather than the marital status of the parents. Universal parental leave, individual taxation and generous childcare make it easier for cohabiting and married couples alike to combine work and family. Where support is weaker or more tightly linked to marital status, low-income cohabiting parents can face additional barriers and instability.
5. Cohabitation is still evolving. Even in countries with relatively low levels of cohabitation today, younger cohorts are more likely to start their adult lives in informal unions before marrying – or instead of marrying at all. Tracking how the quality and stability of these unions compare with marriage is now a central question for demographers and social policy researchers.
Chart 1. Adults living in a cohabiting union, TOP 10 countries (bar chart)
The bar chart ranks countries by the estimated share of adults (20+) living with an unmarried partner. It highlights the “champions of cohabitation” in Scandinavia and the North Atlantic, with Sweden, Estonia and New Zealand at the top and Canada, Iceland and the United Kingdom also well above the OECD average.
Chart 2. Cohabitation and births outside marriage, selected countries (scatter plot)
The scatter plot compares cohabitation among adults (x-axis) with the share of births outside marriage (y-axis) for the same ten countries. Most countries lie along an upward-sloping cloud: the higher the share of cohabiting unions, the higher the share of non-marital births. Iceland, Norway and France sit in the upper-right zone, while Canada – with relatively moderate non-marital birth rates – lies somewhat below the regression line.
Note: Values are indicative, combining OECD cohabitation estimates around 2011 with the latest available figures for births outside marriage (2019–2024). The goal is to show the overall relationship between the two indicators rather than precise point estimates for a single year.
Data sources and further reading
Core statistical inputs and analytical references for this indicator:
- OECD Family Database – SF3.3 “Cohabitation and forms of partnership”. Methodology & tables (PDF)
- OECD Family Database – SF2.4 “Share of births outside marriage”. Indicator description & country data (PDF)
- World Population Review (2025). “Out of Wedlock Births by Country 2025” – country ranking and latest shares of births outside marriage. Ranking & values
- Eurostat (2020). “42% of births in the EU are outside marriage” – statistical release on rising non-marital births in EU Member States. Eurostat news release
- Population Europe. “Living together without getting married” – brief on the spread of cohabitation in Europe, especially among young adults. Research digest
- Soons & Kalmijn (2009). “Is Marriage More Than Cohabitation? Well-Being Differences in 30 European Countries.” Article (PDF)
- Pirani et al. (2015). “Changes in the Satisfaction of Cohabitors Relative to Spouses over Time.” Research article
