The UK has just two-thirds of children living with both parents, one of the lowest rates in the western world, according to research by a global development organisation.
Only in Belgium, Latvia and Estonia are children less likely to live in a household with both their father and mother.
The analysis by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed that 68.9% of children live with both parents in the UK, well below the average of 84%. The lowest percentage was in Latvia at 64.9%, while the highest was in Finland where it stood at 95.2%.
The UK percentage is low in contrast with other western European countries, such as Germany (82%), Italy (92.1%), Spain (91.5%) and France (79.5%). In the 70.7% of children live with both parents.
The figures, which looked at the living arrangements of children aged between 0 and 14 in 30 OECD member countries, relate to 2007.
They also show that the proportion of children living only with their mother in the UK is 27.6%, while 2.4% live only with their father. Only Latvia has a higher percentage of children living with just their mother, at 30.2%.