In Germany, the proportion of fathers living as single parents with their minor children is growing. 15 percent of single parents were fathers in 2022, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Ten years earlier, their share had been ten percent.

During this period, the total number of single fathers with children has also increased: from 166,000 in 2012 to 239,000 in 2022. This corresponds to an increase of 44 percentage points.

The number of single mothers fell by ten percentage points over the same period: from 1.48 to 1.33 million. This means that there are still significantly more mothers than fathers as single parents.

Overall, a child under the age of 18 grows up with one parent in almost one in five families. Around 1.57 million single-parent families lived in Germany in 2022. Compared to 2012, their number decreased slightly. At that time, 1.64 million single-parent families lived in Germany.