Having a child outside a cohabiting union: A common situation in Overseas France
INED explores the frequency of lone parenthood among family trajectories in the departments and regions of Overseas France

Author: Arnaud Régnier-Loilier, Senior Researcher at INED

In the overseas departments of France, almost one in two women is not living with a partner when their first child is born—a family configuration that is much more common there than in metropolitan France. What do these trajectories reveal about marital and family trends in Overseas France? In the latest issue of Population & Societies, published by the French Institute for Demographic Studies (INED), demographer Arnaud Régnier- Loilier analyses the specific characteristics of these trajectories using data from the Migrations, Family, and Ageing (MFV) survey.* 

Lone-parent families are twice as common in Overseas France
In the departments and regions of overseas France (départements et régions d’outre-mer, or DROMs), lone-parent families represent almost one in two families (46%), double the rate in metropolitan France (23%). In the Antilles, 54% of families in Martinique and 52% in Guadeloupe consist of a lone parent with one or more children. Lone-parent families represent 47% of families in French Guiana and 39% in Réunion. In more than 90% of cases, these are mothers raising their children alone, a much higher proportion than in metropolitan France.

Parenthood often begins outside a cohabiting union
Unlike in metropolitan France, where lone parenthood is usually the result of a separation, in the DROMs many people become first-time parents outside of a cohabiting partnership. In 2021, 44% of women giving birth in the DROMs were not living with a partner versus only 8% in metropolitan France. Among women born between 1941 and 1980, 36% had their first child without ever having lived with a partner. This figure is 49% in French Guiana and 25% in Réunion.

Births take place earlier and are influenced by socio-economic factors
First births outside a cohabiting relationship occur earlier than other first births: half of mothers in this situation had their child before the age of 22, compared with age 25 for those in a cohabiting partnership. Among first births outside of partnership, 17% were to adolescent mothers (before age 18), with this proportion reaching 23% in French Guiana. Adolescent parenthood is also associated with a low level of education: 45% of mothers with no qualifications had their first child outside a cohabiting union, compared with 17% of those with a higher education qualification.

An enduring and often precarious situation
When a first child is born outside of a cohabiting partnership, the probability of a second child being born in the same scenario is high: 67% of first-time mothers in this situation also had their second child outside a cohabiting union. This pattern is particularly common in French Guiana, where 39% of women have had two children without a cohabiting partner. In the DROMs, lone parenthood is often synonymous with insecurity: 32% of lone-parent families in French Guiana live in extreme poverty, 24% in Reunion,  and 17 % in the Antilles, compared with only 5% in metropolitan France.

A major demographic and social issue
Subverting the homogeneous view of the family in France, this study highlights the diversity of fertility trajectories and family forms in Overseas France. It emphasizes the need for a better understanding of the social, economic, and cultural factors that lead to early parenthood outside of a stable relationship, to provide better support for the families concerned.