US not alone in rising number of single-parent households

Even though the tradition to have a regular family with lots of kids has been strong among Jews, times are changing in Israel as well as other countries. The number of single-parent families in Israel has doubled over last decade. At 7% of all families, the single-parent household is a growing minority (90% of those are women-headed).

Here are the rankings of countries in order of their number of single-headed households, according to an NII report:

• United State ranked in first place with 16%
• Canada followed with 11%
• Finland, South Korea, New Zealand and Norway are ranked third with 9%
• Australia, the UK, Austria and Portugal ranked fourth with 8%
• Israel is fifth with 7%
• Denmark, Spain and Switzerland came in at sixth place (6%), and
• Germany, Greece, Japan and Luxembourg (5%).

The same forces seem to be at work in most countries--better pay and more opportunities for women are leading to fewer marriages and more women choosing to remain single after divorce or become moms on their own.