Lone parents

Lone-parent families makeup 25% of families across Scotland, and 92% of lone-parent families are headed by women.

Child poverty rates in lone-parent households, Scotland

The rate of relative poverty for lone-parent families was around 60% between 1994-97 and 1998-2001. It had dropped down to 31% by 2011-14, but has risen since then. In 2020-23, 38% of children in lone-parent families were living in relative poverty, compared with 21% of children not in lone-parent families. The rate has remained around this level since 2014-17. The overall trend over this time period was similar for non-lone-parent families, but with much less difference between the highest (24%) and lowest (17%) figures.

Lone-parent households as a proportion of households with children, Glasgow City Region

A quarter of families with children in Glasgow were lone-parent families in 2019. This is higher than the Scottish average of 19%. It is also higher than in most of the regions within Glasgow City, where rates vary from 10% in East Dunbartonshire to 28% in West Dunbartonshire.

Lone-parent households as a proportion of households with children, selected Scottish cities

Among Scottish cities, only Aberdeen had a lower proportion of lone-parent families with 18% compared to Glasgow with 25%. Dundee and Edinburgh both had higher rates, with 27% of families being lone-parent families.

Notes

These data come from Scottish Government statistics.

This page was updated in December 2024 and it will be updated again when figures are next released.