In 2022, about 60 percent of Hispanic origin children lived with two married parents in the United States. On the other hand, about 4.3 percent of Hispanic origin children in the country lived with their father only.

About 13.2 percent of households in Nigeria had, as of 2018, children being raised with neither their mother nor their father present. In addition, 7.3 percent of all households had children with one dead parent and an unknown survival status of the other parent.

In 2023, there were about 15.09 million children living with a single mother in the United States, and about 3.05 million children living with a single father. The number of children living with a single mother is down from its peak in 2012, and the number of children living with a single father is down from its peak in 2005.

Marriage and divorce in the United States

Despite popular opinion in the United States that “half of all marriages end in divorce,” the divorce rate in the U.S. has fallen significantly since 1992. The marriage rate, which has also been decreasing since the 1990s, was still higher than the divorce rate in 2021. Half of all marriages may not end in divorce, but it does seem that fewer people are choosing to get married in the first place.

New family structures

In addition to a falling marriage rate, fewer people in the U.S. have children under the age of 18 living in the house in comparison to 1970. Over the past decade, the share of families with children under 18, whether that be married couples or single parents, has stayed mostly steady, although the number of births in the U.S. has also fallen.

The number of single parents housing underage children in Germany has been increasing with figures for single fathers amounting to 181 thousand in 2018. In comparison, the number of single mothers with underage children amounted to roughly 1.3 million that year, a decrease compared to the previous years, in which the number amounted to almost 1.4 million.

Single parents

General statistics on households with children in Germany show that most families had one child, though it is not always possible to determine whether this was a household with one parent or two. Reasons for being a single parent may vary. It may be due to a court-appointed decision after a divorce, the death of a partner or other circumstances which might have led to parenting a child or children alone. When considering single mothers, additional reasons may include having children outside of a relationship or biological fathers refusing to be involved in raising children. These are only a few examples. As far as families with underage children are concerned, most German households had two children under the age of 18.

Child benefits

In many ways, Germany is a country which encourages and supports the population in having children, also financially. Monthly child benefit payments increase with more offspring. Single parents are also eligible for an alimony advance until their child turns 18, if not being financially supported by the second parent.

Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Djibouti was reported at 7200 in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Djibouti - Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Mozambique was reported at 1300000 in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Mozambique - Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

From 2018 to 2024, 454 children in Paraguay became orphans due to femicide. It was in 2023 that femicide generated more orphans, leaving 88 children in this situation. While in 2024, 65 children were orphaned.

Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe was reported at 490000 in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Zimbabwe - Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in World was reported at 13900000 in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. World - Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

In 2023, there were about 1.18 million Black families with a single father living in the United States. This is an increase from 1990, when there were 472,000 Black families with a single father in the U.S.

Summary statistics of the total and subscales of psychological wellbeing for orphaned and non-orphaned children in Jimma town 2014.

Financial overview and grant giving statistics of Orphan Kids Inc.

Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Gabon was reported at 31000 in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Gabon - Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

This survey data provides the first estimates of the essential outcome indicators and will be repeated at two-year intervals to monitor changes in the well-being of OVC and their caregivers over time. The survey design was a descriptive cross-sectional survey assessing the well-being of vulnerable households, caregivers, and children, registered in the Enhancing Services and Linkages for Children affected by HIV and AIDS (ELIKIA) (ELIKIA) OVC project in Democratic Republic of Congo, (DRC). The targeted population groups are registered active beneficiaries, including primary caregivers ages 18 years and above and children ages 0–17 years (questions were directed to the primary caregiver).

Description of sample countries.

Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Georgia was reported at 1000 in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Georgia - Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

As of April 2021, approximately three percent of de jure children under 18 years in rural India did not live with a biological parent. Meanwhile, the share of children under 18 living away from a biological parent in urban India amounted to 2.5 percent.

This graph shows the number of orphans in China from 2013 to 2023. In 2023, there were approximately 144,450 orphans in China, which was a decrease from around 158,000 in the previous year. In 2015, there were 502,105 orphans in China.

Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Australia was reported at 1000 in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

In 2021, there were 168,063 white children in foster care in the United States. This is compared to 86,645 Black or African American children and 85,215 Hispanic children who were in foster care.

Foster care in the United States

Foster care is where minors are taken care of in different institutions, such as a group home or private home of a caregiver certified by the state (called a foster parent). The procedure for becoming a foster parent in the United States varies from state to state. It is up to the state to determine the process; however it is overseen by the Department of Child Protective Services. It is sometimes seen as a precursor to adoption, which is different from fostering a child. There are many barriers to fostering and adopting children, such as high costs and long wait times, which can discourage people from doing it.

Who are foster children?

The number of children in foster care in the United States has decreased slightly since 2011. When looked at by age, most of the children in foster care in 2020 were one year old, and slightly more male children were in foster care than female children. Most of the children in foster care were placed into non-relative foster family homes, and in most cases, the primary goal of foster care is to reunify children with their parents or primary caregivers.