The number of single parents went from 3.8 million in 1970 to 6.9 million in 1980, increasing at an average rate of 6.0 percent per year. By 1990, there were 9.7 million single parents, but the average rate of increase during the 1980's was a more moderate 3.4 percent per year. There were an estimated 11.4 million single parents in 1994, and their number has been increasing by an average of 3.9 percent per year since 1990, a rate not significantly different from that for the 1980's. Thus, single parents continue to increase but at much more moderate rates compared with the 1970's. About 7.3 million or 64 percent of all single parents in 1994 were White, but the incidence of one-parent situations is much higher among Blacks than Whites.
Mothers account for the vast majority of single parents.
In 1994, there were about 9.9 million single mothers versus 1.6 million single fathers. Thus, single mothers represented 86 percent of all single parents, which was about the same as their share in 1990 and only slightly lower than their proportion in 1970 and 1980. Most single parents have either never been married or are currently divorced. In 1994, about 38 percent of single parents were never married, and about an equal share were divorced. These two categories combined accounted for 3 of every 4 single parents.