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3. Families with children make up 40 per cent of all families

At the end of 2012, there were 578,000 families with underage children in Finland. A family with underage children has at least one child under the age of 18 living at home. Families with children make up 40 per cent of all families. The percentage has been falling at a steady rate for the past few years. In all, 40 per cent of the population live in families with underage children, older siblings included.

The number of families with underage children fell by 2,100 from the previous year. The drop was 300 higher than in the year before. The number of families with children under the age of seven has increased by some 1,800 families from the year before. The obvious explanation to this is that the number of children born has gone up in the early years of the 2000s.

Table 5. Families with underage children by type in 1950–2012

Year    Total       Married couple with children Cohabiting couple with children Mother and children   Father and children   Registered partnership with children Persons in families with underage children     Families with children aged under 18   Families with children of all families, % Population belonging to families with children, %
1950 599 329 515 115 .. 74 319 9 895 .. .. 1 341 330 64 ..
1960 678 046 601 542 .. 67 381 9 123 .. .. 1 536 464 65 ..
1970 1) 677 035 602 076 5 800 61 173 7 986 .. .. 1 345 089 59 ..
1980 2) 688 732 572 142 32 100 74 839 9 651 .. .. 1 163 926 54 ..
1990 640 637 490 999 59 900 78 948 10 790 .. 2 437 592 1 135 686 47 49
2000 612 627 398 892 95 120 103 984 14 631 .. 2 317 291 1 116 687 44 45
2005 591 528 368 553 104 782 103 044 15 063 86 2 232 613 1 084 865 42 43
2006 589 448 365 326 106 422 102 469 15 111 120 2 223 718 1 080 728 41 42
2007 587 767 362 884 107 290 102 156 15 291 146 2 216 526 1 076 522 41 42
2008 585 224 360 904 107 034 101 717 15 382 187 2 206 209 1 071 800 41 41
2009 584 172 358 871 107 377 102 146 15 549 229 2 200 603 1 068 554 40 41
2010 582 360 356 943 107 368 101 946 15 836 267 2 200 603 1 068 554 40 41
2011 580 547 354 567 107 738 101 963 15 940 339 2 185 130 1 061 710 40 40
2012 578 409 352 159 107 751 102 013 16 081 405 2 176 199 1 058 664 40 40
%
1950 100,0 85,9 .. 12,4 1,7 .. .. .. .. ..
1960 100,0 88,7 .. 9,9 1,3 .. .. .. .. ..
1970 100,0 88,9 0,9 9,0 1,2 .. .. .. .. ..
1980 100,0 83,1 4,7 10,9 1,4 .. .. .. .. ..
1990 100,0 76,6 9,4 12,3 1,7 .. .. .. .. ..
2000 100,0 65,1 15,5 17,0 2,4 .. .. .. .. ..
2005 100,0 62,3 17,7 17,4 2,5 0,0 .. .. .. ..
2006 100,0 62,0 18,1 17,4 2,6 0,0 .. .. .. ..
2007 100,0 61,7 18,3 17,4 2,6 0,0 .. .. .. ..
2008 100,0 61,7 18,3 17,4 2,6 0,0 .. .. .. ..
2009 100,0 61,4 18,4 17,5 2,7 0,0 .. .. .. ..
2010 100,0 61,3 18,4 17,5 2,7 0,0 .. .. .. ..
2011 100,0 61,1 18,6 17,6 2,7 0,1 .. .. .. ..
2012 100,0 60,9 18,6 17,6 2,8 0,1 .. .. .. ..
1) The breakdown of the census by type of family has been revised on the basis of interview surveys. (Aromaa, Cantell & Jaakkola: Avoliitto (Consensual Union), Research Institute of Legal Policy 49, Helsinki 1981).
2) The breakdown of the census by type of family has been revised on the basis of the 1981 register-based material on families and cohabiting couples.

3.1 One-fifth of families with underage children are one-parent families

By far the most common type of family with underage children is still that of a married couple. In 61 per cent of all families with underage children the supporters are a married couple. On the other hand, this is the only form of family with children which has seen a steady decline, both in absolute and relative terms. Nevertheless, it is evident that its dominance will not be threatened by any other family form in the near future. The numbers of all other types of families with children grew over the year. At the end of 2012, there were 107,800 families of cohabiting couples with underage children in Finland, which equals to 19 per cent of all families with underage children.

Fifty-five per cent of first-born children are today born outside the marriage. The share has slowly increased, by five percentage points since 1997, when one-half of first-born children were born outside the marriage. Forty-two per cent of all children born in 2012 were born outside the marriage.

The number of families with children of the type mother and children (102,000) has gone up slightly from the year before. The share of such families of the number of families with children has, however, remained the same. One-fifth of all families with children are still one-parent families (mother and children or father and children). Families with children whose regular composition is father and children are still quite rare. There are only 16,100 such families. Families composed of a registered couple and children under the age of 18 are even rarer, numbering 405.

Figure 5A. Families with underage children by type of family and age of mother/single carer father in 2012

Figure 5A. Families with underage children by type of family and age of mother/single carer father in 2012

Figure 5B. Families with underage children by type of family and age of mother/single carer father in 2012, relative breakdown

Figure 5B. Families with underage children by type of family and age of mother/single carer father in 2012, relative breakdown

3.2 One-half of the parents of reconstituted families are married to one another

A reconstituted family refers to a family that has a non-common child under the age of 18, i.e. the child has, in a sense, received a new social parent. The concept is more broadly interpreted in everyday talk: the weekend families born in consequence of diverse family splits are referred to as reconstituted families. However, statistics on families must be compiled according to the child’s permanent place of residence. A child cannot be included in two families in the statistics. Divorced fathers and mothers with whom children only stay during weekends and holidays are not included in family statistics unless they have formed a new family.

There are 53,000 reconstituted families representing nine per cent of all families with underage children. The number of reconstituted families has grown slowly since 1990 when the first statistics concerning them were made, but in 2012, their number decreased by 300 families.

Altogether, 51 per cent of the parents of reconstituted families are married to one another and 49 per cent cohabit. Usually, the child of a reconstituted family is the mother’s and has obtained a new social father. If a common child is born to a reconstituted family, the parents usually marry, but otherwise they mostly cohabit. Families with “your children, my children and our children” living in the same household are still relatively rare, numbering only 814..

Table 6. Reconstituted families 1990–2012

Year   Total       Married couple Cohabiting couple Reconstituted families as a proportion of families with children, % Mother's children Father's children Common children Children under 18 in reconstituted families Non-common children as a proportion of children of all families, % Children in reconstituted families as aproportion of children of all families, %
1990 44 426 21 808 22 618 6,9 50 713 7 443 30 089 88 245 5,1 7,8
1995 42 460 19 197 23 263 6,6 50 322 7 637 29 242 87 201 5,0 7,6
2000 47 288 21 315 25 973 7,7 58 550 8 541 30 931 98 022 6,0 8,8
2001 48 359 21 846 26 513 8,0 60 272 8 916 31 086 100 274 6,3 9,1
2002 49 294 22 431 26 863 8,2 61 816 9 120 31 226 102 162 6,5 9,3
2003 49 944 22 888 27 056 8,4 63 071 9 198 31 565 103 834 6,6 9,5
2004 50 867 23 872 26 995 8,6 64 503 9 366 32 040 105 909 6,8 9,7
2005 52 204 24 722 27 482 8,8 66 228 9 746 32 465 108 439 7,0 10,0
2006 52 920 25 275 27 645 9,0 67 175 10 054 32 817 110 071 7,1 10,2
2007 53 482 25 901 27 581 9,1 67 652 10 254 33 064 110 970 7,2 10,3
2008 53 674 26 415 27 259 9,2 67 463 10 378 33 227 111 068 7,3 10,4
2009 53 584 26 516 27 068 9,2 67 154 10 517 33 016 110 687 7,3 10,4
2010 53 265 26 612 26 653 9,1 66 508 10 417 33 057 109 982 7,2 10,3
2011 53 361 26 698 26 663 9,2 66 423 10 473 33 169 110 065 7,2 10,4
2012 53 018 26 838 26 180 9,2 65 873 10 519 33 263 109 655 7,2 10,4

3.3 The average number of children per family is 1.83

When examining the number of children in families, allowance must be made for the family’s stage of life. For example, families which have only had their first born are processed as one-child families in statistics, as are also families with only their last-born living at home. Family statistics thus represent a cross-section of the situation at a given moment, i.e. the sizes of families in the country at a given point in time, and not the eventual numbers of children in families. Hence, it is difficult to compare the statistics relating to different points in time because of the uneven age structure of the population.

The clearest long-term change in the number of children in families is the fall in the number and relative proportion of families with at least four children since the post-war period (Table 7). The number of these large families started to go up after the mid-1980s but the growth then petered out at the onset of the 2000s. Over the past decade the number has stayed fairly steady. While at the same time the numbers of families with one or two children have decreased, the relative proportion of families with at least four children has risen to nearly five per cent. The number of families with at least four children has grown by some 100 from last year. At the end of 2012, there were 481 families with at least ten underage children.

Table 7. Number of children in families with underage children 1950–2012

Year      Families total Number of children in families Average number of children aged under 18
1                   2                   3                4-           
1950 599 329 234 682 173 092 95 100 96 455 2,24
1960 678 046 253 285 202 408 112 446 109 907 2,27
1970 677 035 287 649 222 276 100 358 66 752 1,99
1980 688 732 333 812 264 944 70 100 19 876 1,69
1990 640 637 286 549 250 317 81 163 22 608 1,77
2000 612 627 268 369 230 758 85 025 28 475 1,82
2005 591 528 255 549 225 879 81 775 28 325 1,83
2008 585 224 253 841 224 508 78 550 28 325 1,83
2009 584 172 254 457 223 777 77 528 28 410 1,83
2010 582 360 254 551 222 596 76 860 28 353 1,83
2011 580 547 253 995 221 643 76 367 28 542 1,83
2012 578 409 252 986 220 806 75 969 28 648 1,83
%
1950 100,0 39,2 28,9 15,9 16,1 ..
1960 100,0 37,4 29,9 16,6 16,2 ..
1970 100,0 42,5 32,8 14,8 9,9 ..
1980 100,0 48,5 38,5 10,2 2,9 ..
1990 100,0 44,7 39,1 12,7 3,5 ..
2000 100,0 43,8 37,7 13,9 4,6 ..
2005 100,0 43,2 38,2 13,8 4,8 ..
2008 100,0 43,4 38,4 13,4 4,8 ..
2009 100,0 43,6 38,3 13,3 4,9 ..
2010 100,0 43,7 38,2 13,2 4,9 ..
2011 100,0 43,8 38,2 13,2 4,9 ..
2012 100,0 43,7 38,2 13,1 5,0 ..

The average number of children in a family with underage children is not directly comparable at different points in time, because the sizes of the age groups at various stages of family life vary. The figures should be age-standardised. This does not give exactly unambiguous information either, since childbearing age has continuously risen. In the 2000s, the average number of children in a family with children has remained nearly unchanged.

The recent trend can be seen in Figure 6, which shows the average number of underage children living at home according to the mother's age group. The fact that women giving birth have become older is visible in that mothers aged over 40 have almost the same number of children in each age group as in the previous year and clearly more than in 1995. In turn, mothers aged under 35 have on average roughly the same number of children as in the year before.

Figure 6. Average number of children in families with underage children by age of mother in 1985, 1995, 2011 and 2012

Figure 6. Average number of children in families with underage children by age of mother in 1985, 1995, 2011 and 2012

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: Riitta Harala


Updated 13.1.2014

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Families [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-3231. Annual Review 2012, 3. Families with children make up 40 per cent of all families . Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 28.3.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/perh/2012/02/perh_2012_02_2013-11-22_kat_003_en.html