People in the EU: who are we and how do we live?

People in the EU – statistics on household and family structures


This article is part of a set of statistical articles that are based on Eurostat’s flagship publication People in the EU: who are we and how do we live? (which also exists as a PDF publication); it presents a range of statistics that cover the characteristics of households in the European Union (EU).
Data extracted in June 2015. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

DEFINING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Traditionally, the family has been defined as a group of people who are linked through blood or marriage, typically centred on a married couple and their dependents. However, within the population and housing census a broader definition is applied. A family ‘nuclei’ is constituted when two persons (of either sex) choose to live together as a married couple, in a registered partnership, or in a consensual union, whether or not they have children; single parents with children also constitute a family unit, while people living alone do not, nor do groups of unrelated people who choose to share a house together (for example, students). The family concept, as defined above, therefore limits relationships between children and adults to direct (first-degree) relationships, that is between parent(s) and child(ren). A child is a blood, step- or adopted son or daughter (regardless of its age or the marital status of its parents) who has their ‘usual’ residence in the household of at least one of its parents, and who has no partner or children of their own.

Contents 
1 Main statistical findings
1.1 Households
1.1.1 Household composition: number of persons
1.1.2 Average household size
1.2 Single-person households
1.2.1 Single-person households: differences between EU Member States
1.2.2 Single-person households: differences between the sexes
1.2.3 Single-person households: growing old
1.2.4 Single-person households: a regional analysis
1.3 Other types of household
1.3.1 One-family households
1.3.2 Two or more family households
1.3.3 Multi-person households
1.4 Families
1.5 Marriage
1.6 Divorce
1.7 Alternatives to marriage?
1.8 Raising children
2 See also
3 Further Eurostat information
3.1 Main tables
3.2 Database
3.3 Dedicated section
3.4 Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)
3.5 Other information
4 External links


Read more: ec.europa.eu