Household size and composition in the developing world in the 1990s

This study uses data from recent household surveys in 43 developing countries to describe the main dimensions of household size and composition in the developing world. Average household size varies only modestly among regions, ranging from 5.6 in the Near East/North Africa to 4.8 in Latin America. These averages are similar to levels observed in the second half of the nineteenth century in Europe and North America. About four out of five members of the household are part of the nuclear family of the head of the household. Household size is found to be positively associated with the level of fertility and the mean age at marriage, and inversely associated with the level of marital disruption. An analysis of trends and differentials in household size suggests that convergence to smaller and predominantly nuclear households is proceeding slowly in contemporary developing countries.

[1]  K. Wachter,et al.  Family Demography: Methods and Their Application. , 1988 .

[2]  S. Tomkins,et al.  Aspects of the Analysis of Family Structure. , 1966 .

[3]  Kenneth W. Wachter,et al.  Family demography : methods and their application , 1990 .

[4]  P. Laslett.  Household and family in past time: Introduction: The history of the family , 1972 .

[5]  S. Vos.  Household Composition in Latin America , 1995 .

[6]  G. Mcnicoll.  Managing population-environment systems: Problems of institutional design , 2000 .

[7]  S. Hoffman.  A Treatise on the Family , 2000 .

[8]  M. Bundy,et al.  Families in Transition . , 1984 .

[9]  Henry S. Shryock,et al.  The Methods and Materials of Demography. , 1973 .

[10]  P. B. King,et al.  Aspects of the Analysis of Family Structure , 1965 .

[11]  T. K. Burch,et al.  Household formation in developed societies. , 1987 .

[12]  S. Kuznets.  Size and age structure of family households: exploratory comparisons , 1978 .

[13]  J. Bongaarts.  The fertility impact of changes in the timing of childbearing in the developing world. , 1999, Population studies.

[14]  B. Barrère,et al.  Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of households , 1997 .

[15]  T. K. Burch.  The Size and Structure of Families: A Comparative Analysis of Census Data , 1967 .

[16]  Nico Keilman,et al.  Modelling household formation and dissolution , 1988 .

[17]  P. Laslett,et al.  Household and family in past time , 1972 .

[18]  T. K. Burch.  Household and family demography: a bibliographic essay. , 1979, Population index.

[19]  J. Bongaarts.  The formal demography of families and households: an overview. , 1983, Newsletter. International Union for the Scientific Study of Population.

[20]  J. Ermisch,et al.  Minimal Household Units: A New Approach to the Analysis of Household Formation , 1985 .

[21]  D. Commerce.  Statistical abstract of the United States , 1978 .

[22]  M. Brockerhoff,et al.  Urban Growth in Developing Countries: A Review of Projections and Predictions , 1999 .

[23]  P. Hooimeijer,et al.  Household Demography and Household Modeling , 1995 .

[24]  James F. Phillips,et al.  Lessons from community-based distribution of family planning in Africa , 1999 .

[25]  G. Mcnicoll.  Population Weights in the International Order , 1999 .

[26]  J. Bongaarts.  Household size and composition in the developing world , 1996 .

[27]  S. Desai,et al.  Female-Headed Households , 1998 .

[28]  C. Lloyd,et al.  Schooling Opportunities for Girls as a Stimulus for Fertility Change in Rural Pakistan* , 2003, Economic Development and Cultural Change.

[29]  Z. Sathar,et al.  Greater investments in children through women's empowerment: A key to demographic change in Pakistan? , 2000 .

[30]  B. Mensch,et al.  The decline of female circumcision in Egypt: evidence and interpretation. , 2002, Social science & medicine.

[31]  J. Aldous.  World Revolution and Family Patterns , 2000 .

[32]  Yi Zeng,et al.  Household projection using conventional demographic data. , 1998 .