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Lone-parent families are twice as common in the overseas departments and regions of France (départements et régions d’outre-mer, DROMs) as in metropolitan France. They often arise due to the birth of a child outside of a cohabiting partnership. More than a third of women in the DROMs born between 1941 and 1980 had their first child when they were not living with a partner. These births took place at earlier ages and were more common among less educated mothers and those from deprived backgrounds. They were often followed by other births outside of a cohabiting partnership.