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.