3. Thirty-eight per cent of families are families with children
At the end of 2018, there were 561,965 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 38 per cent of all families. The percentage has been falling at a steady rate for the past few years. In all, 37 per cent of the population live in families with underage children, older siblings included. The number of families with underage children fell by 4,277 from the previous year. The number of families with children under the age of seven contracted by 6,929 families from the year before.
Table 5. Families with underage children by type in 1950 to 2018
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 |
2018 | 561 965 | 324 592 4) | 110 648 | 108 112 | 18 325 | 285 | 2 104 188 | 1 037 995 | 38,3 | 36,7 |
% | ||||||||||
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 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
2018 | 100,0 | 57,8 | 19,7 | 19,2 | 3,3 | 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.
4) Families of type “same-sex married couple with children” numbered 500.
3.1 One-fifth of families with children are families formed by cohabiting couples with children
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 of the type cohabiting couples with children and registered couples with children also decreased. At the end of 2018, there were 110,648 families of cohabiting couples with children in Finland, which equals to 20 per cent of all families with children. Compared with 2017, the number of families of cohabiting couples decreased by 417 families. By contrast, the number of all other types of families with children grew from one year ago. In this examination, the family type cohabiting couple with children only includes families of opposite-sex cohabiting couples because same-sex cohabiting couples have not thus far been deducted programmatically. These type of families with same-sex cohabiting couples with children are in this statistic included in other family types, like one-parent families.
Forty-five per cent of all children born in 2018 were born outside the marriage.
The number of families formed by a mother and children has grown by 1,173 families compared with 2017. At the end of 2018, families formed by mothers and children numbered 108,112. Around one-fifth (22%) of all families with children were 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 18,328 such families. Even though in these one-parent families the children can officially be registered only at one address, the families can have different practices concerning the custody of the children. Children’s shared residence was examined in the release related to the ad hoc module of the Labour Force Survey in June 2019. According to the survey, in total 63,000 women aged between 18 and 64 had children aged under 15 living in two homes.
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. Now there are only 285 families formed by a registered couple and children. Compared to the year before, the number of families with registered partners and children diminished by 60. At the end of 2018, there were 500 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 2018
Figure 5B. Families with underage children by type of family and age of mother/single carer father in 2018, relative breakdown
3.2 Nearly every tenth family with children is a reconstituted family
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 50,700 reconstituted families representing nine per cent of all families with underage children. The number of reconstituted families has grown slowly since the first statistics were compiled on them in 1990. In the past ten years, the number of reconstituted families has remained almost unchanged but in recent years the number seems to have made a downturn. The number of reconstituted families diminished by 598 from 2017.
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 925.
Table 6. Reconstituted families in 1990 to 2018
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 |
2018 | 50 717 | 24 153 | 26 564 | 9,0 | 63 353 | 11 102 | 32 170 | 111 117 | 7,2 | 10,3 |
3.3 Number of families with children decreased regardless of size
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 slowed down. Since 2016, the number has again made a downturn. The number of families with one child has been falling steadily. The number of families with two children also continued on the downward trend that started in 2017; the number of these families diminished by 328 from the year before. In 2018, the number of families with three children declined by 1,221 families and families with at least four children has fallen by 267 families. At the end of 2018, there were 407 families with at least ten underage children.
Table 7. Number of children in families with underage children in 1950 to 2018
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 |
2018 | 561 965 | 239 248 | 219 788 | 74 105 | 28 824 | 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 | .. |
2018 | 100, | 42,6 | 39,1 | 13,2 | 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 2018, the average age of having the first child was 29.4 and the average age of all women giving birth was 31.1 years. 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, 2017 and 2018
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 31.01.2020
Official Statistics of Finland (OSF):
Families [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-3231. annual review 2018,
3. Thirty-eight per cent of families are families with children
. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 11.12.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/perh/2018/02/perh_2018_02_2020-01-31_kat_003_en.html