Home > Statistics > Families > 2019 > Number of families with small children has fallen by almost one fifth in the 2010s

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Published: 22 May 2020

Number of families with small children has fallen by almost one fifth in the 2010s

According to Statistics Finland, the number of families with children aged under three decreased by 5,565 families in 2019 from the previous year. Compared with 2010, the number of these families has fallen by 18 per cent. Of all family types, the number of families formed by a married couple and children aged under three decreased most, by as much as 26 per cent. The decrease in the number of families with small children is in line with the decline in the birth rate.

Families with children aged under three by type of family in 2010 to 2019

1) Includes registered same-sex partnerships and from 2017 onwards same-sex married couples.

Number of families continued to decline

There were 1,467,368 families in Finland at the end of 2019. The number of families continued to decrease in 2019 and declined by 1,313 families.

In family statistics, families are formed based on the data of the Population Information System on persons living in the same dwelling. There are some limitations to forming a statistical family based on register data alone. One such limitation is that a family of a cohabiting couple is only formed for persons of opposite sexes. The second is related to new family forms, such as those where a couple living in a permanent partnership is not living together. The formation of statistical families is described in more detail in the quality description.

The number of childless couples continued growing

Examined by family type, 64 per cent of all families were families of married couples. The number of families formed by opposite-sex married couples and children decreased by 8,117 families from the previous year. The number of families formed by cohabiting couples and children, in turn, decreased by 304 families from the previous year. By contrast, the number of cohabiting families without children increased by 4,091. Same-sex cohabiting couples are not formed in family statistics, but only cohabiting couples of opposite sexes are taken into consideration here. The number of opposite-sex married couples without children grew by 1,606 families. The number of one-parent families also grew by 593 families. Unlike in previous years, the number of families consisting of a mother and children no longer grew but diminished by 129 families. In contrast, the number of families consisting of a father and children grew by 722.

The number of same-sex married couples increased by 338, while the number of registered couples decreased by 128. The development is a natural continuum of the amendment to the Marriage Act that entered into force at the beginning of March 2017, as a result of which part of registered partners have changed their partnership into marriage and new registered partnerships can no longer be formed. There were 1,154 families formed by couples in registered partnerships and 2,318 families of same-sex married couples. Of them, 62 per cent were families of female couples. Twenty-four per cent of families were families of cohabiting couples and 13 per cent were one-parent families, which is the same as in the previous year. In 2019, there were 1,221,456 persons living alone, or 30,159 more than in the previous year.

The average size of a family was 2.74. As late as in 1990, the average size of a family was three persons. Seventy-three per cent of the population, or 4,013,944 persons, belonged to a family, which is 19,777 fewer than in the year before. The share of persons belonging to a family has been decreasing steadily. As late as 1990, their share of the population was 82 per cent.

Ever fewer families with children

The total number of families with children was 558,302. The number declined by 3,663 from the year before. The decrease is 614 lower than in the previous year, but clearly higher than on average in the last good ten years, when the annual decrease has been around 2,000. A family with children has at least one child under the age of 18. The decrease in the number of families with children mainly indicates that the age groups of children coming of age in the families is larger than the new age groups being born. In addition to the size of age groups being born and coming of age, the number is also influenced by other factors, such as international migration.

A total of 38 per cent of the population belonged to families with children. The most common family type of families with children was still a family formed by an opposite-sex married couple, making up 57 per cent of families with children. One-fifth of families with children were families of cohabiting couples. The share of families formed by a mother and children among families with children was also 20 per cent. Even though the number of families formed by father and children has grown, their number is still very low, three per cent. A same-sex married couple was a parent in 593 families with children and a registered couple in 245 families with children.

The average number of children was 1.8 in families with children

There were a total of 1,028,030 underage children in families with children, 9,965 down from the previous year. The average number of children was 1.84 in families with children. The figure has remained stable, although the number of children has declined. Of families with children, 43 per cent had one child, 39 per cent two children and 13 per cent three children. Five per cent of families with children had at least four children aged under 18. The shares have remained unchanged.

In family statistics, children are included in a family based on where they are registered. So, in case of divorce, the child is only included in the family of one parent even if the parents would in practice have joint custody. Children’s shared residence was studied in the ad hoc module of Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey in 2018. Data on shared residence were published on 17 June 2019. According to the results, there were altogether around 110,000 children living in two homes and 40,000 of these children lived equally much in both homes.

Family statistics describe the size of families in Finland at a given moment and thus do not represent the eventual number of children in families.

Every tenth child is living in a reconstituted family

At the end of 2019, there were 50,607 reconstituted families. The number of reconstituted families went down by 110 from the previous year. The share of reconstituted families in families with children has remained at nine per cent since 2004. Slightly over one-half, 54 per cent, of the parents of reconstituted families were cohabiting and close on one-half, 46 per cent, were married. Only families of opposite-sex couples are taken into account in reconstituted families.

On average, reconstituted families have two children, i.e. slightly more than families with children in general. Sixty per cent of the children were brought into the family by their mother. The share has remained at almost the same level for a quarter century. A reconstituted family is a family with at least one child aged under 18 of one parent only.

Families by type in 1990 to 2019

Type of family	1990	1995	2000	2005	2010	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	Change 2018–2019
Families total	1 365 341	1 382 970	1 401 963	1 426 002	1 455 073	1 475 335	1 475 583	1 471 500	1 468 681	1 467 368	-1 313
Married opposite- sex couple without children	364 452	395 953	436 019	481 209	513 889	528 539	529 697	530 404	532 304	533 910	1 606
Married opposite- sex couple with children	640 062	579 578	514 868	468 266	446 433	424 185	418 032	412 102	404 142	396 025	-8 117
Married same-sex couple, men ¹⁾	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	524	675	784	109
Married same-sex couple, women ¹⁾	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	1 042	1 305	1 534	229
Cohabiting opposite- sex couple no children	123 471	135 996	160 132	180 590	195 967	215 620	218 439	217 644	220 179	224 270	4 091
Cohabiting opposite- sex couple with children	65 896	85 309	102 581	112 847	117 254	122 657	123 321	123 234	122 614	122 918	304
Mother and children	147 297	159 063	159 432	153 024	149 651	150 274	151 459	152 460	152 888	152 759	-129
Father and children	24 163	27 071	28 931	29 238	30 278	31 452	31 951	32 616	33 292	34 014	722
Registered male couple ¹⁾	..	..	..	398	706	1 023	1 052	640	586	547	-39
Registered female couple ¹⁾	..	..	..	430	895	1 585	1 632	834	696	607	-89
Family population	4 101 922	4 093 038	4 053 850	4 037 753	4 065 168	4 080 544	4 072 565	4 055 224	4 033 721	4 013 944	-19 777
Population 31.12.	4 998 478	5 116 829	5 181 115	5 255 580	5 375 276	5 487 308	5 503 297	5 513 130	5 517 919	5 525 292	7 373
Proportion of family population	82,1	80,0	78,2	76,8	75,6	74,4	74,0	73,6	73,1	72,6	-0,5
Average size of family	3,00	2,96	2,89	2,83	2,79	2,77	2,76	2,76	2,75	2,74	–0,01

1) Families of the type ”married same-sex couple with children” numbered 616 and ”registered couple with children” 257 in 2019.

Source: Families 2019, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Marjut Pietiläinen 029 551 2798, Timo Nikander 029 551 3250, Joonas Toivola 029 551 3355, info@stat.fi

Head of Department in charge: Jari Tarkoma

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Quality descriptions

Quality description, families 2019 (22.5.2020)

Updated 22.5.2020

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Families [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-3231. 2019. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 26.11.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/perh/2019/perh_2019_2020-05-22_tie_001_en.html