Household composition by type by country

Percentage of households comprised of a married or in-partnership couple and their children (biological, step, and adopted/foster children), irrespective of children’s ages, and no one else.

Countries reporting
75
Highest
71.6%
Palestine
Lowest
0.0%
Belarus
Median
34.6%
Years covered
62
1960–2021
Data points
562

What the numbers show

Household composition by type is currently reported for 75 countries. The highest value is 71.6% in Palestine; the lowest is 0.0% in Belarus.

The median across all reporting countries is 34.6%, and the mean is 35.2%.

Over the past decade 26 countries rose and 45 fell. The largest increase was in Lesotho (up 88.7%), and the largest decrease in Belarus (down 100.0%).

Household composition by type: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Palestine 71.6% 2019 up 1.3% volatile
2 Jordan 67.5% 2017 up 0.6% rising
3 Egypt 65.0% 2014 up 17.3% rising
4 Turkey 55.1% 2004 up 1.0% rising
5 Morocco 51.0% 2014 up 9.9% rising
6 Bangladesh 50.3% 2019 up 5.4% flat
7 Ethiopia 48.6% 2019 up 5.9% flat
8 Madagascar 47.6% 2018 up 4.8% rising
9 Mali 46.7% 2018 up 10.0% rising
10 Chad 46.0% 2019 down 7.3% rising
11 Indonesia 45.7% 2017 down 2.2% flat
12 Laos 45.3% 2017 down 13.9% falling
13 Cambodia 45.1% 2014 down 9.6% falling
14 Mongolia 44.9% 2018 down 28.0% falling
15 Rwanda 43.7% 2020 up 11.3% falling
16 Guatemala 42.8% 2015 down 10.8% falling
17 Philippines 42.2% 2017 down 7.0% falling
18 Mexico 41.6% 2015 down 19.8% falling
19 Nicaragua 40.4% 2005 up 1.9% flat
20 Brazil 40.4% 2010 down 16.1% falling
21 Nigeria 40.3% 2018 up 18.0% rising
22 Malawi 40.3% 2019 down 8.4% rising
23 Venezuela 39.6% 2001 up 1.1% rising
24 Paraguay 39.4% 2016 down 2.5% rising
25 Pakistan 38.6% 2013 down 9.8% flat
26 Fiji 38.1% 2014 up 25.7% flat
27 Vietnam 37.7% 2020 down 17.4% rising
28 Democratic Republic of Congo 37.7% 2017 down 1.7% falling
29 India 37.0% 2020 down 20.7% flat
30 Central African Republic 36.9% 2018 up 10.6% rising
31 Burkina Faso 36.3% 2014 up 12.1% rising
32 Costa Rica 35.9% 2018 down 14.0% falling
33 Zambia 35.6% 2018 down 1.1% flat
34 Benin 35.4% 2018 down 7.2% rising
35 Tanzania 35.4% 2015 up 13.4% rising
36 Honduras 35.4% 2019 down 11.6% falling
37 Mozambique 35.2% 2018 down 10.9% falling
38 Uganda 34.6% 2019 down 7.5% rising
39 Panama 34.2% 2013 up 0.1% flat
40 Colombia 34.2% 2015 down 7.9% flat
42 Greece 33.7% 2011 down 10.6% falling
43 Togo 33.5% 2017 up 9.4% rising
43 Uruguay 33.5% 2012 down 4.0% falling
45 Kazakhstan 33.2% 2015 down 15.0% falling
46 Kenya 32.5% 2020 up 4.5% rising
47 Kyrgyzstan 32.5% 2018 falling
48 Peru 32.4% 2017 down 16.8% falling
49 Nepal 32.3% 2019 up 7.8% falling
50 Trinidad and Tobago 32.2% 2006 down 11.0% flat
51 Guyana 31.4% 2019 down 5.9% falling
52 Argentina 31.3% 2019 down 15.1% falling
53 Dominican Republic 29.4% 2019 falling
54 Cameroon 27.7% 2018 up 10.0% rising
55 Cote d'Ivoire 27.6% 2016 up 15.9% rising
56 Zimbabwe 27.2% 2019 up 4.3% rising
57 Armenia 27.2% 2016 down 6.4% volatile
58 Hungary 26.7% 2011 down 14.3% volatile
59 Puerto Rico 26.6% 2010 volatile
60 Guinea 26.2% 2021 down 8.9% rising
61 Sierra Leone 25.8% 2019 down 8.6% rising
62 France 25.5% 2015 volatile
63 Liberia 25.4% 2019 down 0.7% falling
63 Bolivia 25.4% 2012 down 44.4% falling
65 Serbia 25.3% 2019 down 20.2% falling
66 Austria 25.3% 2011 down 12.8% volatile
67 Ghana 24.7% 2019 down 8.8% rising
68 United States 23.8% 2015 down 7.2% falling
69 Chile 23.7% 2017 down 50.0% falling
70 Haiti 23.4% 2017 down 3.9% falling
71 Lesotho 21.0% 2018 up 88.7% falling
72 Thailand 20.1% 2019 down 21.5% falling
73 Gambia 19.0% 2020 down 16.1% falling
74 Jamaica 18.7% 2011 down 13.4% rising
75 Senegal 15.6% 2017 up 7.6% falling
76 Belarus 0.0% 2019 down 100.0% volatile

About this data

Indicator
Household composition by type
Unit
%
Source
United Nations (2022) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
76 places, 562 data points, 1960–2021
Last refreshed

Percentage of households comprised of a married or in-partnership couple and their children (biological, step, and adopted/foster children), irrespective of children’s ages, and no one else.