Slovenian families continue to shrink
STA, 15 May 2022 – Slovenian families have decreased in the last 40 years. The number of singles has more than doubled, and the number of families without children has increased by almost half, according to data released by the statistical office before International Family Day.
Slovenian statisticians have been monitoring data on families since 1981, during which time society and the way of life in the country have changed, which is reflected in the figures.
Last year, 80% of the population of Slovenia lived in families, as defined by statistics, compared to 88% of the population of Slovenia forty years ago.
The Statistical Office notes that the increase in the share of the population living alone is related to the aging of the population. The proportion of people over the age of 80 has tripled, and it is this group that lives alone or in institutional households such as nursing homes.
Many of those who live alone are foreigners. These are often men who came to Slovenia on their own to get a job. In the last decade alone, the share of foreign nationals in the population has doubled.
Compared to 40 years ago, the share of families without children increased from 21% to 30%, while the share of those with two or more children decreased. Only one in four families now has two children, and sometimes there was one in three.
The share of large families with three or more children decreased from 10% to 6%, while the share of families with one child remained approximately the same (39% in 2021 and 37% in 1981).
The average number of children in families with children decreased from 1.70 to 1.56.
More families without children are partly due to longer life expectancy and an aging population, as more couples age together.
Forty years ago, married couples with children accounted for 63% of all families, but this share has fallen to 34% since then, as the share of families of unmarried couples with children increased from 1% to 13% and the share of single parent families increased. from 14% to 23%.
Since 2007, more than half of children have been born to unmarried couples.