Nearly a quarter of children in NL have divorced parents
New research shows that 24% of 15-year-olds have parents who are no longer together, just a slight increase from a...
Recent research reveals that nearly one in four Dutch 15-year-olds have divorced parents, marking a slight increase from a decade ago. According to the Dutch statistics bureau CBS, there are currently 3.3 million children living in the Netherlands, of which 782,000 - or 24% - have parents who are no longer together. Twenty years ago, the figure was just 13%, and it remained relatively stable at 23% in 2016 before plateauing.
Most children of separated parents reside with their mother, with 93% of 4-year-olds and 83% of 17-year-olds fitting this pattern.
In addition to the rise in divorced parents, the number of children with same-sex parents has also increased since 1995. In 1995, approximately 1,000 children had two legal mothers, while by 2025, this number had grown to more than 12,000. Conversely, the number of children with two legal fathers is significantly smaller, standing at just 500 in 2025.
Another change observed over the past three decades is the increasing number of parents who never marry. In 1995, only 1,500 15-year-olds with two legal parents lived with unmarried parents, compared to 80% of them residing with their married legal parents. DutchNews.nl relies on the generous support of its readers to report on issues that matter and provide a daily summary of the most important Dutch news.
Your donations are crucial in maintaining the free operation of this news service, and we extend our gratitude to all donors for their contributions.
Written by urgent.news from DutchNews's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
