Living arrangements across households in Europe

Abstract

This chapter examines family living arrangements across 21 European countries. We focus on co-residence among nuclear family members and lone living. We use Eurostat’s Labour Force Survey (EULFS) data to examine regional variations in living arrangements by age and sex, and changes in these patterns between 2006 and 2016. We focus on three main aspects of living arrangements: parental co-residence among young adults in their late twenties; dual- and single-parent households; and lone living at different stages of life. While family living arrangements in European countries have certain commonalities when compared to arrangements in other regions of the world, significant variations remain within Europe, which are mostly shaped by life events surrounding the transition to adulthood. In Northern and Western European countries, transitions to adulthood occur earlier, and single-person households are more prevalent. In Southern and Eastern European countries, there is a higher propensity for adult children to live with their parents until older ages, and to form unions and start having children later in the life course.