The classic household composition of the 20th century tends to be replaced by a new composition that reflects the changes in family situations as the transition to the 21st century takes place.
In this evolution of household type in metropolitan France (1982-2010) in percentage terms, 5 situations have been identified:
- Single person
- Couple without children
- Couple with one or more children
- Single parent family: a single parent and one or more single children (no children)
- Complex household
Finally, it is important to understand what a household is in the INSEE sense: a household refers to all the occupants of the same dwelling, without these people necessarily being linked by family ties
Source: INSEE, data for metropolitan France
Fewer couples with children…
While nearly 40% of French households were a couple with children in 1982, which corresponds to the “traditional family”, they were only 26% in 2010.
… and more single people
On the contrary, one-person households concerned a little less than 25% of households in 1982, against 34% in 2010.
During this 30-year period, the number of single-parent families increased slightly, the number of complex households decreased slightly, and the number of couples without children increased slightly.
