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Households
The Austrian Labour Force Survey (micro census) showed 3 598 000 private households for 2009. Institutional households (e.g. care homes, prisons, boarding schools etc.) were excluded. Based on the population in private households (8 262 000), the average size of household was 2.30 persons. “Size of household” in this case means the number of persons living in a dwelling, including temporarily absent persons.
The distribution of the population in private households by size of household clearly shows the trend towards small households. The 1 283 000 persons living on their own make up 15.5% of the population. Altogether 24.9% of the population in private households live together with one other person; 22.6% live in four-person households. Three-person households account for 20.9% of the total population. 10.0% live in five-person households. The relatively low number of households (78 000) with six or more members makes up 6.0% of the population in private households (499 000 people). 62.9% of all private households are “family households”. These are almost exclusively one-family households. Only 69 500 households (1.9%) are home to two or more nuclear families – mostly in parent-child relationships.
Many people imagine the term “household” to mean a married couple with one or more children. However, this type of household is in competition with numerous other forms of living together. The type “couple with children” made up less than one-third of all households in 2009 – this definition included married and cohabiting couples. Of the 3 598 000 private households, 1 074 000 (29.8%) belong to this type; the proportion in 1985 was considerably higher (37.9%).
In comparison with other forms of living together, this type is the most common form of multi-person household, followed by couples (now) living without children in the household (23.9%) and lone-parent families (mothers: 6.2%; fathers: 1.1%). Consider that child refers to a son or daughter (regardless of age) who has usual residence in the household of at least one of the parents, and who has no partner or own child in the household.
Single-person households dominate the “non-family households” (35.7% of all private households). By contrast, non-family multi-person households (e.g. flat shares) play a very minor role (1.4% of all private households).
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