3. Thirty-nine per cent of families are families with children
At the end of 2017, there were 566,242 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 underage children make up 39 per cent of all families. The percentage has been falling at a steady rate for the past few years. In all, 39 per cent of the population live in families with underage children, older siblings included.
The number of families with underage children fell by 3,434 from the previous year. The drop is 1,640 larger than in the year before. The number of families with children under the age of seven has decreased by 5,028 families from the year before.
Table 5. Families with underage children by type in 1950 to 2017
Year | Total | Married couple with children |
Co- habiting couple with children |
Mother and children |
Father and children |
Regis- tered couple with children |
Persons in families with under- age children |
Families with children aged 17 or under |
Families with children of all families, % |
Popu- lation belong- ing to families with children, % |
1950 | 599 329 | 515 115 | .. | 74 319 | 9 895 | .. | .. | 1 341 330 | 64,4 | .. |
1960 | 678 046 | 601 542 | .. | 67 381 | 9 123 | .. | .. | 1 536 464 | 65,4 | .. |
1970 1) | 677 035 | 602 076 | 5 800 | 61 173 | 7 986 | .. | .. | 1 345 089 | 58,7 | .. |
1980 2) | 688 732 | 572 142 | 32 100 | 74 839 | 9 651 | .. | .. | 1 163 926 | 53,9 | .. |
1990 | 640 637 | 490 999 | 59 900 | 78 948 | 10 790 | .. | 2 437 592 | 1 135 686 | 46,9 | 48,8 |
2000 | 612 627 | 398 892 | 95 120 | 103 984 | 14 631 | .. | 2 317 291 | 1 116 687 | 43,7 | 44,7 |
2010 | 582 360 | 356 943 | 107 368 | 101 946 | 15 836 | 267 | 2 200 603 | 1 068 554 | 40,0 | 40,8 |
2011 | 580 547 | 354 567 | 107 738 | 101 963 | 15 940 | 339 | 2 185 130 | 1 061 710 | 39,7 | 40,5 |
2012 | 578 409 | 352 159 | 107 751 | 102 013 | 16 081 | 405 | 2 176 199 | 1 058 664 | 39,5 | 40,1 |
2013 | 575 683 | 347 817 | 109 104 | 102 152 | 16 163 | 447 | 2 166 385 | 1 056 606 | 39,1 | 39,7 |
2014 | 573 566 | 343 428 | 110 069 | 103 115 | 16 430 | 524 | 2 158 867 | 1 055 763 | 38,9 | 39,5 |
2015 | 571 470 | 339 342 | 110 891 | 103 972 | 16 661 | 604 | 2 149 905 | 1 053 444 | 38,7 | 39,2 |
2016 | 569 676 | 334 861 | 111 307 | 105 693 | 17 164 | 651 | 2 139 737 | 1 051 285 | 38,6 | 38,9 |
2017 | 566 242 | 330 252 3) | 111 065 | 106 939 | 17 641 | 345 | 2 124 972 | 1 046 336 | 38,5 | 38,5 |
% | ||||||||||
1950 | 100,0 | 85,9 | .. | 12,4 | 1,7 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
1960 | 100,0 | 88,7 | .. | 9,9 | 1,3 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
1970 1) | 100,0 | 88,9 | 0,9 | 9,0 | 1,2 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
1980 2) | 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 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
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 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
2013 | 100,0 | 60,4 | 19,0 | 17,7 | 2,8 | 0,1 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
2014 | 100,0 | 59,9 | 19,2 | 18,0 | 2,9 | 0,1 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
2015 | 100,0 | 59,4 | 19,4 | 18,2 | 2,9 | 0,1 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
2016 | 100,0 | 58,8 | 19,5 | 18,6 | 3,0 | 0,1 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
2017 | 100,0 | 58,3 | 19,6 | 18,9 | 3,1 | 0,1 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
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) Families of the type “same-sex married couple with children” numbered 388.
3.1 Fifty-eight per cent of families with underage children are families of cohabiting couples
The most common family with children is still that consisting of a married couple and children. Fifty-eight per cent of the families with children were families of married couples. This is the form of family with children which has seen a steady decline, both in absolute and relative terms, but other family forms with children are still far from its numbers. The number of families with a cohabiting couple and children also diminished. In contrast, the numbers of other types of families with children grew over the year. At the end of 2017, there were almost 111,100 families of cohabiting couples with underage children in Finland, which equals to 20 per cent of all families with underage children. Compared with 2016, the number of families of cohabiting couples decreased by 242.
Nowadays 57 per cent of firstborn children are born outside the marriage. Forty-five per cent of all children born in 2017 were born outside the marriage.
The number of families formed by a mother and children has grown by 1,200 families compared with 2016. At the end of 2017, families formed by mothers and children numbered 106,939. Over one-fifth (22%) of all families with children are 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 17,641 such families.
At the beginning of March 2017, an amendment to the Marriage Act entered into force, as a result of which part of registered partners changed their partnership into marriage and new registered partners can no longer be formed. The number of families formed by a registered couple and children aged under 18 has declined by around 300 from the previous year. Now there are only 345 families formed by a registered couple and children. At the end of 2017, there were 388 families of same-sex married couples with children.
Figure 5A. Families with underage children by type of family and age of mother/single carer father in 2017
![Figure 5A. Families with underage children by type of family and age of mother/single carer father in 2017](perh_2017_02_2018-12-05_kat_003_en_001.gif)
Figure 5B. Families with underage children by type of family and age of mother/single carer father in 2017, relative breakdown
![Figure 5B. Families with underage children by type of family and age of mother/single carer father in 2017, relative breakdown](perh_2017_02_2018-12-05_kat_003_en_002.gif)
3.2 Number of reconstituted families fell, but the share remained unchanged
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. Families of same-sex couples are not taken into consideration in the examination of reconstituted families.
There are 51,300 reconstituted families representing nine per cent of all families with underage children. The number of reconstituted families grew slowly since 1990 when the first statistics concerning them were made. In the past ten years, their number has more or less stayed on the same level, but it seems to have turned to a decline in the last few years. From 2016, the number of reconstituted families diminished by 321.
Usually, the child of a reconstituted family is the mother’s and has obtained a new social father. Altogether, 48 per cent of the parents of reconstituted families are married to one another and 52 per cent cohabit. 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 944.
Table 6. Reconstituted families in 1990 to 2017
Year | Total | Married couple |
Co- habiting couple |
Re- consti- tuted families as a pro- portion of families with children, % |
Mother's children |
Father's children |
Common children |
Children aged 17 or under in re- cons- tituted families |
Non- common children as a pro- portion of children of all families, % |
Children in re- consti- tuted families as a pro- portion 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 |
2005 | 52 204 | 24 722 | 27 482 | 8,8 | 66 228 | 9 746 | 32 465 | 108 439 | 7,0 | 10,0 |
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 |
2013 | 52 709 | 26 316 | 26 393 | 9,2 | 65 196 | 10 761 | 33 611 | 109 568 | 7,2 | 10,4 |
2014 | 52 207 | 25 673 | 26 534 | 9,1 | 64 859 | 10 720 | 33 588 | 109 167 | 7,2 | 10,3 |
2015 | 52 251 | 25 266 | 26 985 | 9,1 | 64 810 | 10 901 | 33 513 | 109 224 | 7,2 | 10,4 |
2016 | 51 636 | 24 877 | 26 759 | 9,1 | 64 280 | 11 045 | 33 096 | 108 421 | 7,2 | 10,3 |
2017 | 51 315 | 24 690 | 26 625 | 9,1 | 63 798 | 11 116 | 33 855 | 107 769 | 7,2 | 10,3 |
3.3 Number of families with two children has again decreased
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 firstborn are processed as one-child families in the 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 1960s (Table 7). After the mid-1980s, the number of families with at least four children started to grow, although over the 2000s, the growth has been slow. The number of families with one child has been falling steadily. After two exceptional years, the number of families with two children has also continued falling. From 2016, the number of these families diminished by 685. In 2017, the number of families with three children remained at the same level and that of families with at least four children almost on level with the previous year. At the end of 2017, there were 438 families with at least ten underage children.
Table 7. Number of children in families with underage children in 1950 to 2017
Year | Families total |
Number of children in families | Average number of children aged 17 or under |
|||
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 |
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 |
2013 | 575 683 | 250 318 | 220 656 | 75 725 | 28 984 | 1,84 |
2014 | 573 566 | 247 882 | 220 487 | 76 033 | 29 164 | 1,84 |
2015 | 571 470 | 245 871 | 220 610 | 75 844 | 29 145 | 1,84 |
2016 | 569 676 | 244 159 | 220 801 | 75 489 | 29 227 | 1,85 |
2017 | 566 242 | 241 709 | 220 116 | 75 326 | 29 091 | 1,85 |
% | ||||||
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 | .. |
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 | .. |
2013 | 100,0 | 43,5 | 38,3 | 13,2 | 5,0 | .. |
2014 | 100,0 | 43,2 | 38,4 | 13,3 | 5,1 | .. |
2015 | 100,0 | 43,0 | 38,6 | 13,3 | 5,1 | .. |
2016 | 100,0 | 42,9 | 38,8 | 13,3 | 5,1 | .. |
2017 | 100,0 | 42,9 | 38,9 | 13,3 | 5,1 | .. |
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. This does not give exactly unambiguous information either, since the 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. The fact that women giving birth have become older is visible in that mothers aged over 40 have approximately 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 the same number or slightly fewer children than in the mid-1990s.
Figure 6. Average number of children in families with underage children by age of mother in 1985, 1995, 2016 and 2017
![Figure 6. Average number of children in families with underage children by age of mother in 1985, 1995, 2016 and 2017](perh_2017_02_2018-12-05_kat_003_en_003.gif)
Source: Population and Justice Statistics, Statistics Finland
Inquiries: Marjut Pietiläinen 029 551 2798, Joonas Toivola 029 551 3355, Timo Nikander 029 551 3250, info@stat.fi
Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma
Updated 5.12.2018
Official Statistics of Finland (OSF):
Families [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-3231. Annual Review 2017,
3. Thirty-nine per cent of families are families with children
. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 17.8.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/perh/2017/02/perh_2017_02_2018-12-05_kat_003_en.html