Study: U.S. has more children in single-parent homes than any nation

The survey showed nearly a quarter of all U.S. children live in a single-parent home. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

Dec. 13 (UPI) — The United States has more children living in single-parent households than any other country in the world, according to new research.

The Pew Research Center report, which studied children in 130 nations and territories, said 23 percent of all American children under the age of 18 live with one parent and no other adult. The world’s second-highest share (21 percent) was seen in Britain.

In Canada, the figure is 15 percent — and in Mexico, it’s 7 percent.

By contrast, just 3 percent of children in China, 4 percent in Nigeria and 5 percent in India live in single-parent homes, the survey said.

“While U.S. children are more likely than children elsewhere to live in single-parent households, they’re much less likely to live in extended families,” Pew researcher Stephanie Kramer said in a statement.

The study classifies single-parent homes as those with a sole adult and at least one biological, step or foster child under 18. Eight percent of U.S. children live in a single-adult home with a relative who isn’t a parent, Pew noted.

Government figures say 7.7 million single-parent families in the United States are headed by women and 2.5 million are headed by men. In 1950, those figures were 1.2 million and 229,000, respectively.

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