Household size

The average household size varies throughout the ECE region, with the smallest household sizes in northern Europe, and the biggest in the CIS countries. The smallest households are in Sweden (2.1 persons on average), followed by Denmark, Finland, Germany and Norway (2.2 persons on average), whereas the biggest are in Tajikistan (5.8 persons), Turkmenistan (5.2 persons) and Uzbekistan (5.1 persons) (Table 2.1). The same pattern can be seen with one-person households and households with five or more persons. In Norway, more than 40 per cent of the households consist of one person and in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Germany this proportion is over 35 per cent. The highest proportions of households with 5 or more persons are in Tajikistan (65), Turkmenistan (57), Azerbaijan (51), Armenia (46) and Kyrgyzstan (44) (Figure 2.2).

Single-parent families

In all countries in the region for which there are data, women lead the majority of single-parent families. The largest share of single fathers is found in Belgium, where approximately one out of four single parents are fathers. The largest share of single mothers is found in Estonia, where approximately nineteen out of twenty single parents are women (Figure 2.3).

Marriages and divorces

With a few exceptions, marriage rates have decreased in the region from 1980 to 2001. The decrease has been most significant in the CIS countries and in central and eastern Europe. For divorces, the highest divorce rate in the region is in the Russian Federation (5.3 divorces per 1 000 people). However, the lowest rate in the region is also within the CIS countries, in Tajikistan where it is 0.4. The 1990s have seen a modest increase in the divorce rate in western Europe, a decrease in most of the CIS countries, whereas the trend in the rest of the ECE region varies somewhat (Table 2.4 and Figure 2.6). For most countries in the region, the median marriage duration at divorce is between 8 and 13 years (Figure 2.8).

Age at first marriage

In the overwhelming majority of the countries in the region, the mean age at first marriage has increased several years between 1990 and 2000. Men are on average 2.8 years older than women when entering into their first marriage. The biggest difference between the age of men and women at their first marriage is in Albania (5.7 years) (Table 2.4 and Figure 2.7).

Marital status

For the countries where data are available on marital status, there are more divorced women than men. This is usually explained owing to a higher rate of divorced men remarrying. In addition, there are far more widowed women than men, which is partly due to women’s longer life expectancy and men’s higher age at marrying. For this reason, there is a much larger proportion of women than men who are alone when entering old age (Table 2.5).

Fertility

With few exceptions, the total fertility rate remains low in the ECE region. Only in a few CIS countries, Turkey and Israel are the rates higher than the replacement fertility rate of 2.1. The lowest reported fertility rate (1.1) is in the Czech Republic, Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine. The proportion of births to mothers over 35 years has increased between 1980 and 2000 in all countries in the region for which data are available, with the exception of Albania, Romania, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. The proportion of births to young mothers (15-19) has decreased in the same period for a majority of the countries. Some exceptions occur, though, mostly in the CIS countries. The mean age of women at the birth of their first child varies substantially, from 30 years in Canada to 22 years in Armenia. (Table 2.9 and Figure 2.10). In parallel with the increase in age at the first marriage, the mean age at the birth of the first child is growing in the region, with the exception of some CIS countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine) (see country pages).

Births outside marriage

The number of births to unmarried mothers has increased in all countries since 1980, but the proportion still varies substantially among countries. In Iceland, Estonia and Sweden more than 50 per cent of children are born out of wedlock, whereas in Cyprus and Greece the percentage is less than 5 (Figure 2.11).

Abortions

Five countries had more abortions than live births in 2000: the Russian Federation, Bulgaria, Belarus, Romania and Ukraine. Overall, the rates are substantially higher in central and eastern Europe and the CIS countries than in western Europe and North America. In most countries there has been a decrease in the abortion rate since 1990. However, in some countries, especially those with a lower abortion rate (such as Belgium, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom), the rate has increased during the same-period.

Tables and charts

2.1 Basic data on household numbers and size

2.2 Percentage of households consisting of one person or five persons and above

2.3 Distribution of mothers and fathers in single parent families, 2000/2001

2.4 Trends in marriage and divorce

2.5 Population by marital status, 18 years and over

2.6 Marriage rates, 1980 and 2001

2.7 Change in mean age at first marriage for women, between 1990 and 2000

2.8 Median duration of marriage at divorce, 2000/2001

2.9 Fertility trends

2.10 Mean age of women at birth of first child, 2000/2001

2.11 Trends in births outside marriage, 1980 and 2001

2.12 Abortion rates, 1980-2000