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5. Sixty-six per cent of children live in families of married couples

Families with children can also be examined by taking the child as the statistical unit instead of the family. Then the results are slightly different. For example, 61 per cent of the families with underage children are those of married couples, but 66 per cent of all children live in families of married couples, because these families have a higher average number of children than families of cohabiting couples or one-parent families. When the children of cohabiting couples and registered partnerships are included, 83 per cent of underage children live in two-parent families.

Table 8. Children aged under 18 by type of family in 1985–2011

Year	Total	Married couple	Registered partnership	Cohabiting couple	Mother	Father
1985	1 136 027	959 580	..	61 386	102 413	12 648
1990	1 135 686	916 855	..	91 164	113 184	14 483
1995	1 150 562	858 255	..	125 222	148 706	18 379
2000	1 116 687	777 447	..	156 411	162 544	20 285
2005	1 084 865	727 638	131	172 898	162 875	21 323
2006	1 080 728	721 911	183	175 516	161 834	21 284
2007	1 076 522	716 804	216	176 801	161 184	21 517
2008	1 071 800	713 202	277	175 986	160 730	21 605
2009	1 068 554	708 684	331	175 951	161 755	21 833
2009	1 068 554	708 684	331	175 951	161 755	21 833
2010	1 064 470	704 953	397	175 563	161 427	22 130
2011	1 061 710	701 396	500	175 981	161 575	22 258
Per cent
1985	100,0	84,5	..	5,4	9,0	1,1
1990	100,0	80,7	..	7,9	10,0	1,3
1995	100,0	74,6	..	10,9	12,9	1,6
2000	100,0	69,6	..	14,0	14,6	1,8
2005	100,0	67,1	0,0	15,9	15,0	2,0
2006	100,0	66,8	0,0	16,2	15,0	2,0
2007	100,0	66,6	0,0	16,4	15,0	2,0
2008	100,0	66,5	0,0	16,4	15,0	2,0
2009	100,0	66,3	0,0	16,5	15,1	2,0
2010	100,0	66,2	0,0	16,5	15,2	2,1
2011	100,0	66,1	0,0	16,6	15,2	2,1

Of all babies aged under one, 92 per cent live with both parents and eight per cent with a single mother (Figure 9). In eleven years, the first mentioned percentage has risen by only one percentage point while the latter has remained unchanged.

The share of children living with their father or mother rises with age. One-fifth of 17-year-old children live with the mother only; one decade ago the share was 17 per cent. Respectively, four per cent live with the father only, which is the same proportion as ten years earlier.

Figure 9. Children by type of family and age in 2011, relative breakdown

5.1 One-third of children live with at least two siblings

Although 44 per cent of families with children had only one child at the end of 2011, only 24 per cent of the children in these families had no siblings. The status of an only child is temporary for many of these children, as the majority of them will have a sibling later on. Some of these children may also have had an older sibling who has already turned 18 or moved away from home.

At the end of 2011, altogether 42 per cent of all children lived with one sibling and as many as 34 per cent of all children had at least two siblings living at home. In 1985, only 27 per cent of all children had at least two siblings at home.

Table 9. Children by number of underage children in the family in 1985–2011

Year	Total	Number of underage children in families
		1	2	3	4-
1985	1 136 027	306 784	518 206	221 211	89 826
1990	1 135 751	286 529	500 680	243 504	105 038
1995	1 150 562	284 915	484 092	257 283	124 272
2000	1 116 687	268 369	461 516	255 075	131 727
2005	1 084 865	255 549	451 758	245 325	132 233
2006	1 080 728	254 705	451 428	242 382	132 213
2007	1 076 522	254 832	450 088	238 782	132 820
2008	1 071 800	253 841	449 016	235 650	133 293
2009	1 068 554	254 457	447 554	232 584	133 959
2010	1 064 470	254 551	445 192	230 580	134 147
2011	1 061 710	253 995	443 286	229 101	135 328
Per cent
1985	100,0	27,0	45,6	19,5	7,9
1990	100,0	25,2	44,1	21,4	9,2
1995	100,0	24,8	42,1	22,4	10,8
2000	100,0	24,0	41,3	22,8	11,8
2005	100,0	23,6	41,6	22,6	12,2
2006	100,0	23,6	41,8	22,4	12,2
2007	100,0	23,7	41,8	22,2	12,3
2008	100,0	23,7	41,9	22,0	12,4
2009	100,0	23,8	41,9	21,8	12,5
2010	100,0	23,9	41,8	21,7	12,6
2011	100,0	23,9	41,8	21,6	12,7

Figure 10 illustrates the cross-sectional nature of family statistics. It shows the ages of children in families by the number of children in the family. Here all children living at home and aged under 18 are taken into account when determining the status of an only child. Of the 0-year-olds, 41 per cent are without siblings, i.e. they are first-borns in their families. The proportion of children without siblings, 13 per cent, is the lowest for children aged 7 to 8.

A second child has most likely been born to a family at the latest by the time the first-born is aged around seven. On the other hand, the older sibling has only on rare occasions reached the age of 18. Since it can be assumed that some of the 7-year-old children will still have a sibling and some of them already have one who has left home, it can be concluded that some ten per cent of children will remain permanently without siblings. The same results are attained when looking at the number of children according to the number of children born to women in the whole country.

Figure 10 indicates that a child’s family is at its largest when he/she is aged between 8 and 9. In all, 44 per cent of children of that age live in families with three or more underage children. Their proportion is the same as in the previous year.

Figure 10. Children by age and number of children aged under 18 in the family in 2011

5.2 Lowest proportions of children without siblings in South Karelia and Åland

There are also differences in the numbers of siblings by area. In areas where families are bigger, the proportion of children living with several siblings is naturally larger than in areas of small families. In North and Central Ostrobothnia over 20 per cent of children have three or more siblings aged under 18 living at home. In contrast, the proportion of children living with more than three siblings is under ten per cent in Kymenlaakso, Uusimaa and South Karelia.

North and Central Ostrobothnia also have the lowest proportions of children living without siblings − under 20 per cent in both. More than every fourth child living in Kymenlaakso, Uusimaa, South Karelia and Åland has no siblings living at home.

Figure 11. Children by number of siblings by region in 2011, %

In Finnish municipalities Yli-Ii (9%), Luoto and Sievi (10%) have in relative terms the least children without siblings. In relative terms, the most children without siblings are living in Helsinki, Kolari and Pelkosenniemi (in all 31%).

The number of children of large families living with three or more siblings is in relative terms highest in Merijärvi (54%), Yli-Ii (52%) and Lumijoki (51%). In addition, over one half of children live in families with at least four children in Ranua, Perho and Sievi. The number of children living with at least three siblings is naturally in relative terms highest in municipalities that have the biggest sizes of families with underage children. In relative terms the lowest number of children are living with at least three siblings in Åland's Brändö and Sottunga where there are no families with four children. Next come Hammarland and Sund (4%). In Mainland Finland the number of children living with at least three siblings is lowest in Taivassalo (5%), Naantali and Ristijärvi (6%).

5.3 Seven per cent of children from reconstituted families

As in the previous year, 110,000 children (10% of all children) aged under 18 are raised in reconstituted families. Of them, 33,200 are the spouses' common children, that is, born to a family that previously had the mother’s and/or the father’s children only. Altogether 44 per cent of reconstituted families have had common children born to the family as well. There are 77,000 actual children of reconstituted families (7% of all children), that is, children who have obtained a new social parent. Of these children, 66,400 were brought into the family by their mother and 10,500 by their father.

5.4 Thirteen per cent of children of foreign background

Children's foreign background can also be viewed according to whether the children were self born abroad or their at least one parent was born abroad. By these criteria, the proportion of children with foreign background among all children is 13 per cent (137,000). It should be, however, remembered that part of children born abroad can be of Finnish background, such as children of Finnish-born parents working on a posting abroad. Here examined are all children in the population of Finland, also those who do not belong to the family population.

The proportion of children with foreign background has been growing steadily over the 2000s. At the end of 2002, eight per cent of all children were those who were born abroad or whose at least one parent was born abroad.

At the end of 2011, three per cent of children were born abroad, which is one percentage point more than in 2002. Children who were self born in Finland, but whose both parents were born abroad, also make up three per cent, while in 2002 this figure was one per cent.

As in 2002, in 2011 the number of children who were self born in Finland but whose one parent was born abroad was highest among children with foreign background (7%)

Figure 12. Share of children with foreign background among under 18-year-olds in 2002-2011

Source: Population and Cause of Death Statistics, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Marjut Pietiläinen 09 1734 2798, Timo Nikander 09 1734 3250, vaesto.tilasto@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

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Updated 9.11.2012