Traditional family household in decline

Fewer than one in five households in Dublin City are now made up of the traditional family of husband, wife and children, a new report from the Central Statistics Office today reveals.

This information is contained in Census 2006 Volume 3 - Household Composition, Family Units and Fertility, which gives further detailed results of the census conducted on 23 April 2006. The report gives the final figures on household composition and family units classified by age, sex and detailed territorial divisions in the country. (See editor's note).

The report shows that there were 477,705 households composed of the traditional family in the State in 2006, an increase of only 3.3 per cent since 2002. The number of these traditional households declined in all the main cities between 2002 and 2006.

Meath (39.5%) and Kildare (38.3%) had the highest proportions of traditional family households. The corresponding proportions for the five cities were Dublin (19.4%), Galway (21.5%), Limerick (22.2%), Cork (24.2%) and Waterford (25.3%) - all considerably less than the average for the State as a whole (32.5%).

One-person households on the increase

The report also reveals that there was a continued increase in the number of one-person households - up 51,877 or 18.7 per cent since 2002. One-person households, which accounted for 22.4 per cent of all households in the State in 2006, were the predominant household type in all five cities.

Nearly 56 per cent of one-person households were occupied by single (never-married) persons; a further 26.7 per cent by widowed persons; 14.4 per cent by separated (including divorced) persons and 3 per cent by those describing their marital status as married.

Persons aged 65 years and over were the occupants of 36.8 per cent of the one-person households in 2006 - down from 41.0 per cent in 2002.

Continued fall in average household size

The average number of persons per private households has continued to decline and now stands at 2.8, compared with 2.94 four years earlier. The smallest households continue to be found in the cities with Dublin City having the smallest at 2.5.

Overall, the total number of private households is up from 1.288 million in 2002 to 1.469 million in 2006 - a rise of 181,500 or 14.1 per cent. The population grew by 8.2 per cent over the same period.

Cohabiting couples are fastest growing family type

The total number of cohabiting couples was 121,800 in 2006 up from 77,600 in 2002 - by far the fastest growing type of family unit.

Cohabiting couples represented 11.6 per cent of all family units in 2006 compared with 8.4 per cent in 2002. Almost two thirds of them were couples without children.

Census 2006 Volume 3 - Household Composition, Family Units and Fertility also shows that there were 19,830 households with two or more family units in 2006. The more accurate identification of these multi-family households was helped by the introduction of a new question on household relationships in the 2006 census.

Fewer adult children living with their parents

Overall the number of "children" living with one or both parents increased by 1.1 per cent from 1,470,800 in 2002 to 1,486,431 in 2006. However, the number of "children" in their twenties living with their parents actually fell from 304,353 to 280,065 over the same period, while "children" in their thirties still living at home also fell from 70,707 to 65,693. Males continue to account for nearly two-thirds of persons in their thirties living with their parents.

Editor's note

The publication Census 2006 - Principal Demographic Results, released on 29 March 2007, contains a summary at State level of data from Volumes 1-6, 9 and 13 of the detailed census reports which will be published over the coming months (see CSO website for release dates). The publication released today, Volume 3, gives figures on household composition, family units and fertility at a more detailed geographical level.

For copies of the publication contact:
Central Statistics Office, Information Section, Skehard Road, Cork 021 453 5011
or
Government Publications Sales Office, Sun Alliance House, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.
Price: €15.00
Copies can also be downloaded from the CSO website (see address below).

For further information contact:

Central Statistics Office, Swords Business Campus,
Balheary Road, Swords, Co. Dublin.
Census Enquiries: (01) 895 1460/61/63/66
Fax: (01) 895 1399
E-mail: census@cso.ie
Internet: www.cso.ie

31 May 2007

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