Which children, and why: the ages of bereaved children and the causes of their parents’ deaths

Wherever children whose parent has died are counted or estimated, the same two patterns appear. Most are older children and teenagers rather than young children, and more of them have had a father die than a mother. The causes of those deaths differ far more between countries: cancer and heart disease lead in the Netherlands and Sweden, drug overdose has led in the United States since 2020, and in one rural district of Uganda, HIV once lay behind most new cases.

Who a bereaved child is, and how their parent died, shapes what support needs to look like. A five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old understand death differently and need different things from the adults around them. A death after months of cancer treatment brings different needs from a sudden death or a death linked to drugs or violence. This study brings together the best data we could find on which ages and which kinds of death services are most likely to meet. Very few countries publish it directly.

Most bereaved children are older children and teenagers

Sweden is one of the few countries that counts, every year, how many children had a parent die, using its national population registers. In 2025, 366 children aged 0–5 had a mother or father die, against 1,045 aged 6–12 and 1,306 aged 13–17. Taken as a share of each age group, the rate rises steadily with age: 0.6 per 1,000 children aged 0–5, 1.2 per 1,000 at 6–12 and 2.1 per 1,000 at 13–17. Among young adults aged 18–21 it was 3.0 per 1,000^[1].

The Netherlands shows the same shape. In 2021, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), about 650 children under 6 had a parent die, 1,400 children aged 6 to 12 and 2,850 aged 12 to 18. Another 6,640 young adults aged 18 to 25 did too. CBS gives the reason plainly: young adults are more likely to have a parent die because their parents are, on the whole, older^[2]. The same logic runs through childhood: a teenager's parents are usually older than a toddler's.

Modelled estimates from other countries point the same way. Globally, an estimated 69% of children whose mother died of cancer in 2020 were aged 10 or over, 21% were aged 5–9 and 11% were under 5^[3]. In the United States, a modelling study based on death registrations estimated that 1,691,918 adolescents aged 10–17 had had a parent die by 2021, 5.2% of that age group. Adolescents were 5.0 times as likely as children aged 0–4 to have had a parent die^[4]. These lifetime figures are not directly comparable with Sweden's yearly counts, but the direction is the same.

COVID-19 deaths followed the pattern too. Worldwide, a modelling study that extrapolated from data for 21 countries estimated that 2,146,700 of the children who had a parent die of COVID-19 between March 2020 and October 2021 were aged 10–17, against 736,800 aged 5–9 and 491,300 aged 0–4^[5]. We look at those deaths in our study of children bereaved during COVID-19.

None of this means that younger children are few. Hundreds of very young children have a parent die each year even in a country the size of Sweden, and they are the children with the fewest words for it.

More children have a father die than a mother

The second pattern is just as consistent. In Sweden in 2025, 1,793 children under 18 had a father die and 924 a mother, close to two fathers for every mother^[1]. In the Netherlands, an average of about 3,500 fathers and 2,000 mothers a year died leaving at least one child under 25 in 2019–2021^[2]. In the United States, 66.8% of the children estimated to have had a parent die by 2021 had had a father die and 33.2% a mother^[4].

The gap widens for some causes of death. Among children worldwide estimated to have had a parent die of COVID-19 in the same study, 76.5% had a father die and 23.5% a mother, and fathers outnumbered mothers in every age group and region^[5]. In the US, an estimated 192,459 children had a father die of a drug overdose between 2011 and 2021, against 129,107 who had a mother die^[6].

The figures follow adult mortality. In the UK, men aged 50–64 had over three times as many deaths from ischaemic heart disease as women of the same age in every year from 2001 to 2018^[7]. In the US, 73.8% of people who died from drug poisoning or firearms in 1999–2020 were male^[8]. For services, it means a large share of bereaved children are living with their mother after their father's death. The pattern is less stark for cancer, which in the Netherlands caused a larger share of mothers' deaths (60%) than fathers' (40%), though more fathers than mothers died overall^[2].

In the Netherlands and Sweden, cancer and heart disease lead

Very few countries publish the causes of death of parents, as opposed to adults in general. The Netherlands is one that does. For 2019–2021, CBS linked deaths to the population register to find parents who left at least one child under 25. Among mothers, cancer and other neoplasms caused 60% of deaths, followed by other natural causes (12%) and heart and circulatory disease (10%). Among fathers, neoplasms caused 40%, heart and circulatory disease 18% and other natural causes 16%^[2]. COVID-19 caused almost 6% of these parents' deaths in 2020–2021: 503 fathers and 136 mothers^[2].

Sweden's registers tell a similar story at the level of single diagnoses. Among young people born in 1992–1999 whose parent died when they were aged 7–24, the most common cause of a father's death was a heart attack (acute myocardial infarction). The dominant cause of a mother's death was breast cancer^[9]. In Finland, cancer is the most common cause of death among women aged 15–64, the ages at which women may be raising children under 18^[10].

Many of these children, then, have had a parent die after an illness, some after months or years of treatment, others suddenly of a heart attack. The difference matters for the support a family needs.

Suicide is a smaller share of parents' deaths but not a rare one. In the Netherlands, 8% of fathers and 5% of mothers who died in 2019–2021 leaving a child under 25 died by suicide, about 275 fathers and 100 mothers a year^[2]. In Sweden, suicide was the second most common cause of a father’s death among young people born in 1992–1999^[9]. In the UK, suicide and deaths of undetermined intent were the leading cause of death among both men and women aged 20–34, parents or not, in every year from 2001 to 2018^[7]. These are figures for a whole population. No single cause explains any one death, and help is available after a suicide; our study of children bereaved by suicide sets out what is known.

In the United States, overdose and violence now lead

The US picture is different, and it has changed fast. A modelling study based on national death registrations found that drug overdose has been the leading cause of children having a parent die since 2020, ahead of COVID-19. In 2000, an estimated 0.02% of US children had had a parent die of an overdose. By 2019 it was 0.07%, and by 2021 0.10%^[4]. In the study’s estimates, deaths from injuries (overdose, suicide, homicide and accidents) affected more US children than parents' deaths from heart disease and cancer^[4].

A second study came to a similar conclusion. It estimated that 759,000 young people under 18 in the US had a parent die from drug poisoning between 1999 and 2020, and 434,000 from a firearm injury. In 2020, drugs and firearms caused 23% of all parental deaths, double the 12% of 1999. Over the same period, the number of young people whose parent died from drugs rose by 345%, against 24% for all other causes^[8]. A third, based on national surveys and death records, put the number of children who had a parent aged 18–64 die of an overdose in 2011–2021 at 321,566. The yearly rate rose from 27.0 to 63.1 per 100,000 children^[6]. All three are modelled estimates, built by combining death records with data on how many children adults have; none is a direct count.

The leading cause also differs between communities within the US. Overdose led among non-Hispanic white children in 2021, but not among other groups. Heart disease was the leading cause of a father's death for non-Hispanic Black children, and COVID-19 of a mother's. COVID-19 led for both parents of Hispanic children. Chronic liver disease led for the mothers of American Indian and Alaska Native children^[4]. Black young people had a disproportionate share of parental deaths, driven mainly by firearm deaths among fathers^[8]. These patterns reflect wider differences in health and safety between communities.

Elsewhere, HIV and cancer have shaped the picture

For much of the world there are no national figures on why children's parents die. The best evidence comes from research cohorts and global models. In Rakai, Uganda, a population cohort surveyed 28 communities from 1995 to 2022. In 2004, 67% of new cases of a father dying and 71% of a mother dying were attributed to the parent's HIV status. By 2022, with HIV treatment widely available, those shares had fallen to 11% and 12%. The share of children with a parent who had died fell from 21.5% in 2003–04 to 6.3% in 2020–22^[11]. The researchers note that the numbers remained considerable, particularly among adolescents: 14.4% of 15–17-year-olds had had a parent die in 2020–22^[11].

Cancer is a cause in every region. A global model estimated that 1,047,000 children had a mother die of cancer in 2020. Breast cancer accounted for 25%, cervical cancer 20% and upper gastrointestinal cancers 13%. Most of these children lived in Asia (48%) and Africa (35%)^[3]. The rate ranged from 121 per 100,000 children in Malawi to 15 in Malta^[3]. Many of these deaths are preventable, and the authors link prevention to the World Health Organization's cervical and breast cancer initiatives.

The numbers can move the right way. In Finland, the modelled rate of children newly having a mother die of cancer fell by 1.2% a year from 1998; in 2022 it was an estimated 285 children^[10].

What the evidence asks of us

• Plan for teenagers as well as young children. In Sweden and the Netherlands, the number of children having a parent die rises with age, and teenagers are the largest group under 18^[1][2]. Services, schools and colleges need approaches that work for adolescents, and support should not stop at 18: young adults aged 18–21 in Sweden had the highest rate of all^[1].
• Build support around how the parent died. In Norway, the risk of self-harm and suicide among bereaved young people differed by the cause of their parent's death, and the researchers stress the importance of psychosocial and family support after a parent's death^[12]. A death after a long illness and a sudden death open different routes into support, and services need routes that reach families after sudden deaths as well.
• Remember the surviving mother. With about two children having a father die for every one whose mother dies in these data, many bereaved children live with their mother afterwards^[1][4]. Her wellbeing and income are part of the child's support.
• Count parents' causes of death. The Netherlands shows it can be done from existing registers^[2]. We found no such statistics for the UK, which publishes causes of death for adults but not for parents of dependent children; elsewhere, figures must be modelled. A modelling team in Brazil, which found that official records there undercount children whose parent has died, argues that strengthening vital registration systems can put children at the centre of public health responses^[13]. We cover this in our study of how many children are bereaved.
• Treat prevention as child support. Fewer parental deaths from HIV in Rakai followed the scale-up of treatment^[11]. The researchers behind the global cancer estimates argue that faster action on cervical and breast cancer could avert many of these deaths and their consequences for children^[3]. In the US, the authors of the drug and firearm study call for efforts to prevent overdoses and firearm violence^[8].

Language: this piece uses plain words such as “died” rather than euphemisms, because they are clearer. Where it discusses suicide, it follows the Samaritans’ media guidelines.

Why we're publishing this

Funders, commissioners and schools often ask organisations supporting bereaved children how old these children are and how their parents died. The answers shape what support is built and who it reaches, so we brought the best available figures together in one place. The case is theirs; our part is to say plainly what the data show. This study is part of our research library on children and young people bereaved of a parent.

How to read this data

The figures come from three kinds of source. Sweden's and the Netherlands' are counts from national population registers, which link every death to the person's children. Sweden's cover children aged 0–21 in 2025; the Dutch age figures cover 2021 and the Dutch causes cover parents of anyone under 25 in 2019–2021, so they include parents of young adults. The Swedish cause ranking comes from one register study of people born 1992–1999 who were aged 7–24 at their parent's death.

The US, global, Brazilian and Finnish figures are modelled estimates, not counts. They combine death records with data on how many children adults of each age have, and their authors describe many of them as minimum estimates. The three US studies use different methods, years and definitions, so their totals are not directly comparable with each other or with the register counts. The Rakai figures come from one research cohort in Uganda, not a national survey. The UK figures are causes of death for all adults in each age group, published in 2020 for 2001–2018; we found no UK statistics on the causes of death of parents of dependent children. Where a figure is a lifetime measure (how many children have ever had a parent die), it is higher than a yearly one and rises with age.

Use this data

Free to cite with attribution to Understanding Bereavement. Charities, schools, services and journalists are welcome to reuse these figures and charts. For the underlying figures as a spreadsheet, get in touch.

Important: This study summarises published research about groups of people for general information. It is not medical advice or bereavement support, and it cannot describe or predict anything about an individual child or family. If you are worried about a child or about yourself, please speak to a GP or another qualified professional.

Sources

1. Statistics Sweden. Children and young persons aged 0–21 whose parents have died during the year by sex, age and which parent who died, 2015–2025 (table LE0102T36). Statistics Sweden, 2026. statistikdatabasen.scb.se/…/LE0102T36
2. Statistics Netherlands (CBS). Bijna 100 duizend jongeren halfwees [Almost 100,000 young people have had a parent die]. CBS, 2022. cbs.nl/nl-nl/nieuws/2022/41/…
3. Guida F, Kidman R, Ferlay J, et al. Global and regional estimates of orphans attributed to maternal cancer mortality in 2020. Nature Medicine, 2022. europepmc.org/article/MED/36404355
4. Villaveces A, Chen Y, Tucker S, et al. Orphanhood and caregiver death among children in the United States by all-cause mortality, 2000–2021. Nature Medicine, 2025. europepmc.org/article/MED/39794613
5. Unwin HJT, Hillis S, Cluver L, et al. Global, regional, and national minimum estimates of children affected by COVID-19-associated orphanhood and caregiver death, by age and family circumstance up to Oct 31, 2021. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 2022. europepmc.org/article/MED/35219404
6. Jones CM, Zhang K, Han B, et al. Estimated number of children who lost a parent to drug overdose in the US from 2011 to 2021. JAMA Psychiatry, 2024. europepmc.org/article/MED/38717781
7. Office for National Statistics. Leading causes of death, UK: 2001 to 2018. ONS, 2020. ons.gov.uk/…/leadingcausesofdeathuk/2001to2018
8. Schlüter BS, Alburez-Gutierrez D, Bibbins-Domingo K, Alexander MJ, Kiang MV. Youth experiencing parental death due to drug poisoning and firearm violence in the US, 1999–2020. JAMA, 2024. europepmc.org/article/MED/38703404
9. Liu C, Grotta A, Hiyoshi A, et al. Parental death and initiation of antidepressant treatment in surviving children and youth: a national register-based matched cohort study. eClinicalMedicine, 2023. europepmc.org/article/MED/37396801
10. Talala KM, Mäkinen EE, Seppä KJM, Lallukka TM, Pitkäniemi JM. Model-based trends in the estimated number of children affected by maternal cancer diagnosis or death in Finland in 1968–2022. 2025. europepmc.org/article/MED/40988317
11. Khalifa A, Malden DE, Ratmann O, et al. Incidence and prevalence of orphanhood in Rakai, Uganda: a population-based cohort study, 1995–2022. The Lancet Global Health, 2026. europepmc.org/article/MED/41519154
12. Skei-Larssen E, Grimholt TK, Qin P. Risk of deliberate self-harm and suicide in children bereaved from parental death by specific natural and external causes: a national study. 2026. europepmc.org/article/MED/41443321
13. Steyn N, Unwin HJT, Ponmattam J, et al. Regional and national estimates of children affected by all-cause and COVID-19-associated orphanhood and caregiver death in Brazil, by age and family circumstance. The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, 2025. europepmc.org/article/MED/41080610