ChildStats.gov—Forum on Child and Family Statistics
faces of children
Home  |  About the Forum  |  Publications  |  Help
Search
Percent Distribution of Households by Type and Country, 10 Countries, Selected Years
(Data are generally for the entire year, but in some instances they are only for a particular month within the year)
  Married-couple householdsa  
Year Total Total With childrenb Without childrenb Single parentb One–person Otherc
United States
1980 100.0 60.8 30.9 29.9 7.5 22.7 9.0
1990 100.0 56.0 26.3 29.8 8.3 24.6 11.0
1995 100.0 54.4 25.5 28.9 9.1 25.0 11.5
2000 100.0 52.8 24.1 28.7 8.9 25.5 12.7
2001 100.0 52.3 24.0 28.3 8.7 26.1 13.0
2002 100.0 51.9 23.6 28.3 9.1 26.3 12.7
2003 100.0 51.5 23.3 28.2 9.0 26.4 13.0
2004 100.0 51.5 23.0 28.5 9.1 26.4 13.0
2005 100.0 51.4 23.1 28.2 9.1 26.4 13.1
Canada
1981 100.0 66.8 36.3 30.5 5.3 20.3 7.6
1991 100.0 62.8 29.6 33.2 5.7 22.9 8.6
1996 100.0 60.5 27.8 32.7 6.4 24.2 8.9
2001 100.0 59.4 25.6 33.8 6.1 25.7 8.8
Japan
1980 100.0 68.4 42.9 25.6 2.2 19.8 9.5
1985 100.0 67.4 39.2 28.2 2.5 20.8 9.4
1990 100.0 65.2 33.1 32.1 2.3 23.1 9.4
1995 100.0 62.8 27.4 35.4 2.0 25.6 9.6
2000 100.0 60.3 23.6 36.7 2.1 27.6 10.0
2005 100.0 59.1 21.0 38.1 2.3 27.6 11.0
Denmarkd
1980 100.0 50.3 25.0 25.3 3.9 44.9 1.0
1990 100.0 45.6 19.5 26.1 4.2 49.6 0.6
1995 100.0 44.9 18.2 26.6 4.2 50.4 0.5
2001 100.0 45.7 18.5 27.2 4.2 49.6 0.6
2003 100.0 45.7 18.5 27.2 4.4 49.3 0.6
2005 100.0 45.3 18.4 26.9 4.7 49.4 0.6
2006 100.0 45.1 18.4 26.7 4.7 49.6 0.6
France
1982 100.0 67.0 39.7 27.3 4.3 24.6 4.1
1990 100.0 64.9 38.6 26.2 6.6 26.1 2.5
1995 100.0 62.2 35.9 26.3 6.7 28.9 2.3
2000 100.0 60.0 32.8 27.1 7.2 30.8 2.0
Germany
1991 100.0 55.3 31.6 23.7 7.1 33.6 4.0
1995 100.0 53.3 29.2 24.0 6.8 34.9 5.1
2000e 100.0 56.8 28.0 28.8 6.0 36.1 1.2
2001 100.0 56.3 27.3 28.9 6.0 36.6 1.2
2002 100.0 56.0 27.0 29.0 6.1 36.7 1.2
2003 100.0 55.6 26.5 29.0 6.2 37.0 1.2
2004 100.0 55.3 26.1 29.2 6.3 37.2 1.2
2005 100.0 54.7 25.5 29.1 6.4 37.5 1.4
Ireland
1981 100.0 — — — — 16.9 —
1991 100.0 61.6 47.9 13.7 10.6 20.2 7.6
1996 100.0 59.6 44.5 15.1 11.2 21.5 7.7
2002 100.0 59.2 41.4 17.7 11.7 21.6 7.6
2006 100.0 57.3 37.4 20.0 11.6 22.4 8.7
Netherlands
1988 100.0 64.7 37.3 27.4 5.4 28.7 1.2
1993 100.0 63.1 33.3 29.9 5.0 30.9 1.0
1995e 100.0 61.2 32.6 28.5 5.6 32.6 0.7
2000 100.0 60.2 30.6 29.6 5.6 33.4 0.7
2004 100.0 58.8 29.7 29.1 6.2 34.4 0.7
2005 100.0 58.5 29.4 29.1 6.3 34.5 0.7
2006 100.0 58.0 29.1 28.9 6.3 35.0 0.7
Sweden
1985 100.0 54.8 23.8 31.0 3.2 36.1 5.9
1990 100.0 52.1 21.9 30.2 3.9 39.6 4.4
1995e 100.0 50.7 21.2 29.4 4.6 42.3 2.4
2000f 100.0 45.8 19.1 26.7 5.3 46.5 2.3
2002f 100.0 44.3 17.9 26.4 5.1 47.9 2.7
2003f 100.0v 46.0 18.9 27.1 5.3 46.2 2.6
2004f 100.0 46.3 18.9 27.3 4.7 46.4 2.6
United Kingdomg
1981 100.0 65.0 31.0 34.0 5.0 22.0 8.0
1991 100.0 61.0 25.0 36.0 6.0 27.0 6.0
1994–95 100.0 58.0 25.0 33.0 7.0 27.0 8.0
2000 100.0 58.0v 23.0 35.0 6.0 29.0 7.0
2001 100.0 58.0 23.0 35.0 7.0 29.0 6.0
2002 100.0 58.0 23.0 35.0 6.0 29.0 7.0
2003 100.0 56.0 22.0 34.0 5.0 29.0 10.0
2004 100.0 57.0 22.0 35.0 7.0 29.0 7.0
2005 100.0 57.0 22.0 35.0 7.0 29.0 7.0
2006 100.0 57.0 22.0 35.0 7.0 28.0 8.0
— Not Applicable
a May include unmarried cohabitating couples. Such couples are explicitly included under married couples in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, France, the Netherlands and Sweden. In Germany, cohabitants are grouped with married couples beginning in 2000. In other countries, some unmarried cohabitants are included as married couples, while some are classified under "other households.
b Children are defined as unmarried children living at home according to the following age limits: under 18 years old in the United States, Canada, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, except that the United Kingdom includes 15-, 16-, and 17-year-olds in 1981 and 16- and 17-year-olds thereafter only if they are attending school full-time; under 25 years old in France; and children of all ages in Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
c Includes both family and nonfamily households not elsewhere classified. These households comprise, for example, siblings residing together, other households composed of relatives, and households made up of roommates. Some unmarried cohabitating couples may also be included in the "other" group. See footnote 1.
d From family-based statistics. However, one person living alone constitutes a family in Denmark. In this respect, the Danish data are closer to household statistics.
e Break in series.
f Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates for single-parent households.
g Great Britain only (excludes Northern Ireland).
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, updated and revised from "Families and Work in Transition in 12 Countries, 1980-2001," Monthly Labor Review, September 2003; and unpublished data. http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/

Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics

Explore

More Information

Contact