Issue, No.32 (December 2024)

Different Household Types Patterns and Living Arrangements for Single Parents across Selected Countries

by Carmen Petrovici, (LIS)

Household structures vary significantly across countries and cultures. This article introduces a new household typology from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS), based on which we look at the predominant types of household in different welfare states in Europe and in selected countries in different parts of the world, with a focus on data around 2021.

The new LIS typology distinguishes first, when a family nucleus can be identified, between several types of households: individuals living alone, nucleus family (couples with or without children, or lone parents with dependent or only with non-dependent children), multigenerational (typically involving three or more generations, although two generations may include grandparents living with their grandchildren), and other extended families. A dependent child is defined as someone aged 18 or younger, or between 18 and 24 if they are still in continuous education. When a family nucleus cannot be identified, there are two other types of households: relatives living together (e.g. siblings) or non-relatives living together. Any other type of household, particularly when it is unknown if the members are relatives or not, is classified under the ‘other household type’ category. In countries where polygamous unions are legally recognized or persist due to cultural practices, polygamous families are categorized separately, as illustrated in the cases of India and Mali.

This article will first highlight the most common household types in each of the selected countries, and second, it will examine the proportion of lone parents or other single parents among parents with at least one dependent child, along with their living arrangements at the individual level.

A lone parent is a parent living solely with their own children (biologically or adopted). The nucleus household type “lone parent with at least one dependent child” is further broken down at the individual level into two groups: “lone parent living with only own dependent child/ren” (where all children meet the criteria to be consider dependent), and “lone parent living with own children of which at least 1 dependent”. The final category at the individual level: “one parent living with at least 1 own dependent child and others” refers to parents who live with at least one dependent child and at least one other person who is neither their child nor their partner. Since these parents reside with others, they are not strictly considered lone parents, therefore the term ‘single parents’ will be used to designate all three categories. It is important to note that this last category cannot be specifically identified at the household level and will be included within one of the non-nuclear household types (e.g., multigenerational, extended family, relatives living together, or even non-relatives living together). The reference category at the individual level “not one parent” is restricted for this analysis to parents of at least one dependent child living in a couple.

Please note that the household type “lone parent with non-dependent children only” is excluded from the individual-level analysis of single parents, as these households contain only non-dependent children (adult children living with their parents, who, in many cases, are the ones supporting their elderly parents).

To explore the diversity of countries across Europe, one country was selected from each welfare state model: Luxembourg for the conservative model, Denmark for the Nordic model, the United Kingdom (UK) for the liberal model, Spain for the Southern model, and Romania for the Eastern European model.

As shown in Figure 1.a, in Luxembourg the single-person households, are preponderant among the household types with 38.5%, followed by far, with more than 15 percentage points difference, by couples with at least one dependent child and couples without children.

In Figure 1.b, when focusing on parents with dependent children, 7.5% are lone parents living only with their dependent children. Less than 2% of single parents live with others and even less live with non-dependent children as well. This can be explained by the fact that, on average, parents in Luxembourg have less than 2 children, therefore the cases of both dependent and non-dependent ones do not occur often.

Figure 2.a reveals that in Denmark nearly half of all households are single-person households, the highest proportion among the countries featured in this article. A quarter of households consist of couples without children, followed at 7 percentage points difference by couples with at least one dependent child. As shown in Figure 2.b, Denmark has a higher percentage of single parents with dependent children compared to Luxembourg, with over 13% overall. The vast majority of them are lone parents living solely with their dependent children.

The UK is the only European country in our selection where single-person households are not the most common household type. Instead, couples without children occupy the largest share, though the difference between these two categories is small, as shown in Figure 3.a. Couples with at least one dependent child follow, with an 8 percentage point gap. When examining single parents, Figure 3.b shows that the UK has the highest proportion of single parents among the selected European countries. Most of them are lone parents living only with dependent children, but compared to the other countries, nearly 2% live with both dependent and non-dependent children, and a small number live with others.

Spain, representing the Southern model, displays a distinct pattern of household types. While single-person households remain the most common, as shown in Figure 4.a, couples with at least one dependent child come in second, with a small difference of less than 2 percentage points. Couples without children follow, with a gap of around 3 percentage points. When examining parents with dependent children, Figure 4.b reveals that 5.3% are lone parents living only with dependent children. About 1% live with both dependent and non-dependent children, while nearly 2.5% live with others. Notably, as seen in Figure 4.a, the proportion of multigenerational families in Spain is higher than in the other countries previously discussed.

Romania, representing Eastern European countries, exhibits a distinct household typology pattern. Approximately a third of households are single-person households, followed by couples with at least one dependent child, which are about 9 percentage points less common. Couples without children are only slightly less prevalent than the ones with children, with a difference of less than 4 percentage points, as shown in Figure 5.a. A particularity in Romania is its highest proportion of multigenerational families compared to all other European countries presented, accounting for almost 12% of households. Romania also has the lowest share of single parents among the European countries discussed, representing only about 6.5% of parents with dependent children, as seen in Figure 5.b. Just over half of them are lone parents living only with dependent children, while the second largest group lives with others, a trend that is also reflected in the higher proportion of multigenerational families.

Looking at the household patterns around the world, the example from North America, the United States, presents a different scenario, as shown in Figure 6.a. Single-person households are the largest category, followed closely by couples without children, with a difference of less than 3 percentage points. Couples with at least one dependent child are about 5 percentage points less common than couples without children in the household. Lone parents rank fourth among household types with over 6%. This is supported by the individual level analysis: as shown in Figure 6.b, single parents represent over 15% of parents with dependent children. Most of them are lone parents living only with dependent children, while about 28% of single parents live with others.

Mexico, representing Central America, presents a distinctly different household pattern compared to the previously discussed countries, as shown in Figure 7.a. The largest household type, making up over 30%, consists of couples with at least one dependent child, followed by multigenerational households, which account for over 19%, reflecting different cultural norms. Due to the underdeveloped pension system in Mexico, families rely heavily on intergenerational solidarity. Studies have shown that one in four adult children live with their elderly parents (Gomes, C., 2007). Single-person households rank third, with a gap of more than 3 percentage points, followed closely by couples without children. Lone parents represent the fifth largest household type, and as seen in Figure 7.b, the single parents account for about 18% of parents with dependent children. Notably, the majority of single parents, over 10%, live with others, showing a different pattern compared to the other countries discussed.

A similar pattern is observed in South America, in Colombia, as shown in Figure 8.b. The proportion of single parents among parents is even higher, at around 22.5%, with nearly half of them living with others in the household. This is supported by the fact that the multigenerational families represent the third largest household category, as is reflected in Figure 8.a. Single-person households rank second, with a difference of about 5.5 percentage points, while couples with at least one dependent child make up the largest household category, similar to the pattern in Mexico. Additionally, there is a significant proportion of households (nearly 8%) where relatives live together without a family nucleus.

Uruguay, another South American country, exhibits a slightly different household pattern. The largest category is still couples with at least one dependent child, but the second largest, with a difference of more than 10 percentage points, consists of couples without children. Single-person households follow closely, as shown in Figure 9.a. Multigenerational families represent the fourth largest category, accounting for over 9%. Unlike in Colombia, however, the majority of single parents in Uruguay are lone parents living only with their dependent children, while about 38% of single parents live with others and only a small percentage with dependent and non-dependent children.

Looking at Asia, Japan present yet a distinct household pattern, as shown in Figure 10.a. it is the only country among those selected in which the largest category is couples without children, followed closely by couples with at least one dependent child. In third place, with a 5.5 percentage point difference, are couples with only non-dependent children, making Japan the only country where this category ranks among the top three. Additionally, Japan has a notable proportion of lone parents with non-dependent children, accounting for over 7%. Single-person households are in fourth place, followed by multigenerational families, which make up nearly 12% of households.

Japan is the only country in this selection where parents pointers are not available in the data. As a result, the individual-level graph in Figure 10.b. is limited to reference persons (and partners of parents in couples), meaning that the category of single parents living with other is most likely underestimated. Overall, Japan shows a relatively low proportion of single parents, under 4%, and most of them are lone parents living with only dependent children.

India is the only Asian country in the LIS database that provides pointers to parents and partner in the data, which is why it has been included in this analysis using the most recent wave available. Although the reference year is 10 years earlier than that for the other countries, which is around 2021, India remains an interesting case. As shown in Figure 11.a, couples with at least one dependent child make up the largest household category with over 35%, closely followed by multigenerational families, at less than one percentage point difference, reflecting strong intergenerational solidarity within Indian society. All other household types are much less common; couples without children rank third at just under 8%. Furthermore, India has the lowest proportion of single-person households among the selected countries, at just over 3%. For the first time, we also observe the presence of polygamous families, though their occurrence is very low. This low percentage is largely explained by the fact that polygamy is only legal for the Muslim minority in India. Moreover, comparing with previous wave available, the trend shows a slight decline in polygamous unions since 2004.

As seen in Figure 11.b, the proportion of single parents in India is relatively small, making up just slightly over 7% of all parents with dependent children. The majority of these single parents live with others in the household, which aligns with the significant presence of multigenerational families.

Unlike India, Mali, the only African country in our selection, permits polygamy under the Marriage Code, allowing men to have up to four wives. Polygamy is so common in Mali that by the age of 45–49, nearly half of married women are in polygamous marriages (Heath, R., Hidrobo, M., Roy, S., 2020). While the most prevalent household type in Mali is couples with at least one dependent child, the polygamous families come in second, representing 21.66% of households, as shown in Figure 12.a. Moreover, the prevalence of polygamous unions is on the rise, with a 2.33 percentage point increase since 2011. Multigenerational families rank third, followed closely by households where relatives live together. The proportion of single parents among all parents in Mali is relatively low, under 5%, as shown in Figure 12.b, with the majority living with other individuals in the household.

This article presents the diverse picture of different household types across selected countries, reflecting varying cultural patterns. Additionally, it examines the proportion of single parents among parents with minor children, which varies significantly across countries, ranging from 3.7% in Japan to 22.5% in Colombia and their different living arrangements. However, when we extrapolate from the individual level to the family unit (where two parents living together as a couple are considered a single family unit), the overall proportion of single parents increases. As shown in Figure 1.c. below, taking the example of Luxembourg, the proportion rises from just under 10% at the individual level to over 18% when considering family as the unit of analysis.

Further paths of analysis could focus on the characteristics of lone parents living only with their children compare with those of single parents living with others and their economic wellbeing.

References