Foreign-born people and their descendants - household composition
Data extracted in October 2023.
Planned article update: August 2024.
Highlights
Around 1 in 13 (7.2 %) households in the EU in 2022 were mixed households of native and non-native adults.
Around 1 in 7 (14.9 %) households in the EU in 2022 were households of non-native adults in which all adults were either descendants of one or two foreign-born parents or foreign-born.
In the EU in 2022, single-adult households made up a large majority (72.0 %) of the households in which all of the adults were descendants of one or two foreign-born parents.
This article is one of a set of statistical articles concerning foreign-born people and their descendants in the EU and forms part of an online publication. It presents statistics on the migration status of adults in private households in the European Union (EU).
As explained in the diagram and text below, the types of households have been identified based on the migration status (defined in terms of place of birth) of adults within the household. An article on the main characteristics of foreign-born people and their descendants provides an overview of the migration status of individuals. For single-adult households, the household migration status reflects the migration status of that individual. For multi-adult households (those with more than one adult), the household migration status reflects the fact that the adults in a multi-adult household may have different migration status.
This article distinguishes between the following types of households by migration status (please note that this article uses simplified labels of household types compared with those used in the Eurostat database; in the list below, simplified labels are presented in bold while full labels are presented in brackets):
- households of native adults (in other words, households composed only of native-born adults with two native-born parents);
- mixed households of native and non-native adults (in other words, households composed of at least one native-born adult with two native-born parents and at least one adult who is either i) native-born with one or two foreign-born parents or ii) foreign-born adults); and
- households of non-native adults (in other words, households composed only of adults who are either i) native-born with one or two foreign-born parents or ii) foreign-born adults).
The category 'households of non-native adults' can be further divided into:
- households of adult descendants of one or two foreign-born parents (in other words, households composed only of native-born adults with one or two foreign-born parents);
- mixed households of adult descendants of one or two foreign-born parents and foreign-born adults (in other words, households composed of at least one native-born adult with one or two foreign-born parents and at least one foreign-born adult); and
- households of foreign-born adults (in other words, households composed only of foreign-born adults).
In addition, there are households where the migration status (based on adults) is not applicable. These are mostly households where the majority of adults were aged 75 years and over and for whom no information on the migration status of their parents was surveyed.
Full article
Overview of EU households by migration status of adults
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfst_hhmgscomp)
In 2022, private households in the EU were composed as follows regarding the migration status of their adults.
- Almost two-thirds (65.0 %) of households were households of native adults.
- About 1 in 13 (7.2 %) were mixed households of native and non-native adults.
- About 1 in 7 (14.9 %) were households of non-native adults. Among these
- in a small share (3.4 % of all households), all of the adults were descendants of one or two foreign-born parents;
- in a still smaller share (1.8 % of all households), the households had at least one adult descendant of one or two foreign-born parents and at least one foreign-born adult;
- in the remaining share (9.7 % of all households), all adults were foreign-born.
- For about 1 in 8 households (12.9 %), the migration status of adults was not applicable.
The second section of this article focuses entirely on households by migration status of adults.
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfst_hhmgscomp)
The composition of a household can also be defined in terms of the number and relationship of adults and the presence or not of dependent children. The analysis in Figure 2 distinguishes three categories of households according to the number and relationship of adults – single adult, couples and other type – each of which is further distinguished between those with and those without children.
Among the five types of households by migration status of adults (other than not applicable) presented in the figure, three can have any of the six types of household composition based on the number of adults and the presence or not of children; these are presented at the top of the figure. Notably, the share of single-adult households (whether with children or not) in the EU in 2022 was quite different between these three categories.
The two remaining types of households by migration status of adults (presented in the middle of the figure) must have at least two adults with different migration status, namely
- mixed households of native and non-native adults, and
- mixed households of adult descendants and foreign-born adults.
Households in the not applicable category tend not to have children as this category is composed mainly of relatively older people. As such, the structure is dominated by the three types of household compositions without children. In the EU, the share of all types of households (single adult, couples and other type) without children in the not applicable category was 99.9 % in 2022.
More detailed information by household composition is provided in the third section of this article.
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfst_hhmgscomp)
The final figure in this overview (Figure 3) looks at the working status of adults within EU households in 2022.
The lowest shares of households in which none of the adults were working were observed for the two types of households by migration status that, by definition, must have at least two adults, namely
- mixed households of native and non-native adults (13.4 %), and
- mixed households of adult descendants and foreign-born adults (10.7 %).
The same two types of households by migration status of adults had relatively high shares for the situation where there was at least one working adult and at least one not working adult (35.8 % and 55.1 %, respectively).
By contrast, the three types of households by migration status that can have single-adult households all had higher shares of households where all adults worked or where none worked. The highest shares for both of these households were observed for households of adult descendants of one or two foreign-born parents. All adults were working in 41.5 % of these households while no adults were working in 33.7 % of them.
More detailed information by working status is provided in the fourth and fifth sections of this article.
Households by migration status of adults
Figures 4 and 5 show the distribution of households by migration status of adults with 2022 data for the EU Member States. These are similar to Figure 1 which showed the data for the EU.
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfst_hhmgscomp)
In the EU, almost two-thirds (65.0 %) of the households were households of native adults.
- The highest shares of households of native adults were in Slovakia (88.7 %), Romania (88.5 %), Poland (87.7 %) and Bulgaria (86.7 %).
- This share was above 50.0 % in all other EU Member States (and Norway) with the exception of Luxembourg (21.4 %).
In the EU (7.2 %) and most EU Member States, the smallest of the three types of households by migration status by adults shown in Figure 4 was mixed households of native and non-native adults.
- In two-thirds of the EU Member States, the share was less than 10.0 %.
- The highest share (13.0 %) for mixed households of native and non-native adults was in Germany.
- Among the Member States with reliable data, Denmark, Croatia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia were the only EU Member States where the share of mixed households of native and non-native adults was higher than that for households of non-native adults.
Households of non-native adults accounted for 14.9 % of all households in the EU, a share that was approximately double that for mixed households of native and non-native adults.
- In two-thirds of the EU Member States, the share was less than 20.0 %.
- The share exceeded one-quarter in Estonia and Latvia.
- By far, the highest share (61.5 %) for households of non-native adults was in Luxembourg, 34.0 percentage points (pp) above the next highest share (27.5 % in Estonia).
Figure 5 provides more detailed information for the share of households of non-native adults.
In the EU, all of the adults were descendants of one or two foreign-born parents in 3.4 % of households.
- Among the EU Member States with reliable data, the share of households where all adults were descendants of one or two foreign-born parents exceeded one-tenth in Estonia (13.7 %) and Latvia (12.2 %).
- This share was below 1.0 % in five EU Member States.
In the EU, 1.8 % of households were mixed households of adult descendants and foreign-born adults.
- Among the EU Member States with reliable data, this share was more than five times as high as the EU average in Luxembourg (10.0 %), which was by far the highest share.
- Shares between 1.8 % and 4.1 % were observed in ten Member States and below 1.8 % in the remaining 11 Member States.
In the EU, all adults were foreign-born in 9.7 % of households.
- Households of foreign-born adults accounted for 45.3 % of households in Luxembourg, a share that was more than double the next highest share (21.3 % in Cyprus).
- In 13 EU Member States with reliable data, this share was below 10.0 %, among which the share was below 1.0 % in Poland (0.5 %).
(% of all households)
Source: Eurostat (lfst_hhmgscomp)
Migration status of adults and composition of households
Figure 6 presents the composition of households according to the number and relationship of adults and the presence or not of dependent children. This analysis is only shown for the three types of households by migration status (other than not applicable) which can have any of the six types of household composition studied.
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfst_hhmgscomp)
As noted in the overview, the share of single-adult households (whether with children or not) in the EU in 2022 was quite different between these three types of households by migration status. This might reflect the different age structures for these types of households by migration status.
- Nearly three-quarters (72.0 %) of households of adult descendants were single-adult households. This might reflect the large share of native-born adults with at least one foreign-born parent who were aged 15–29 years (35.2 % of those aged 15–74 years) [1].
- For households of foreign-born adults, the share of single-adult households was 47.5 %; the share of foreign-born adults who were aged 15–29 years was 17.5 % of those aged 15–74 years.
- For households of native adults, the share of single-adult households was 35.9 %; the share of native-born adults with two native-born parents who were aged 15–29 years was 20.3 % of those aged 15–74 years.
When focusing on single-adult households, slightly more than 1 in 10 (9.5 %) of households of native adults had children. This share was around one in nine (11.6 %) for households of adult descendants and was around one in eight (12.2 %) for households of foreign-born adults.
Turning to households of couples, just over two-fifths (40.9 %) had children among households of native adults. This share was lower, between one-third and two-fifths (34.9 %), for households of adult descendants but was notably higher – above half (55.7 %) – for households of foreign-born adults.
Turning to the smallest category of household composition, namely other (other than single-adult households or households with couples) types of households, just over one-quarter (26.1 %) of households of native adults had children. This share was lower, around one in six (18.7 %), for households of adult descendants but was notably higher – close to two-fifths (38.6 %) – for households of foreign-born adults.
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfst_hhmgscomp)
Figure 7 focuses on single-adult households with dependent children. In the EU in 2022, the share ranged from 3.4 % among households of native adults, through 5.8 % for households of foreign-born adults to 8.4 % for households of adult descendants.
In most EU Member States with reliable data, the smallest share of households that were single-adult households with children was recorded among households of native adults. Exceptions were observed in Estonia and Latvia where the share was lower for households of foreign-born adults.
In most EU Member States with reliable data, the share of households that were single-adult households with children was higher for households of adult descendants than for households of foreign-born adults. In the Netherlands the shares were almost identical for these two types of households by migration status, while a higher share for households of foreign-born adults was observed in Denmark, Germany and Sweden (as well as in Norway).
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfst_hhmgscomp)
Figure 8 moves away from single-adult households to present data for multi-adult households. For this analysis, the data are shown for the full range of types of households by migration status of adults.
The highest share (39.3 %) of multi-adult households in the EU in 2022 that were households composed of couples with children was observed for households of foreign-born adults. By contrast, the lowest share (20.3 %) was observed for mixed households of adult descendants and foreign-born adults.
Among households of adult descendants, more than half (51.2 %) of the multi-adult households in the EU in 2022 were households of couples without children. Once more, the lowest share (14.3 %) was observed for mixed households of adult descendants and foreign-born adults.
By far the highest share among multi-adult households in the EU in 2022 of other (other than couples) types of households was observed for mixed households of adult descendants and foreign-born adults. This was observed for other types of households with children (25.1 %) and without children (40.3 %).
- For other types of households with children, the next highest share was 11.4 % for households of foreign-born adults. For other types of households without children, the next highest share was 27.4 % for households of native adults.
- The smallest shares for other types of households were observed for households of adult descendants: 4.0 % for other types of households with children and 17.3 % for those without children.
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfst_hhmgscomp)
Like Figure 8, Figure 9 presents shares within multi-adult households. For three selected types of households by migration status by adults, it shows the share of multi-adult households that had children. In the EU, this share in 2022 ranged from 35.4 % among households of native adults to 47.1 % for households of non-native adults.
- In most EU Member States with complete data, the lowest share among the three selected types of households by migration status was observed for households of native adults. There were however several exceptions:
- In Latvia, Hungary, Malta and Croatia the share for households of native adults was higher than for one of the other types of households by migration status;
- in Estonia and Lithuania, the share for households of native adults was higher than for both other types of households by migration status.
In 2022, the range among the EU Member States in the share of multi-adult households that had children varied somewhat by type of household by migration status.
- Among households of native adults, the share of multi-adult households that had children ranged from 23.9 % in Luxembourg to 44.4 % in Estonia.
- Among mixed households of native and non-native adults, the share of multi-adult households that had children ranged from 25.4 % in Poland to 50.6 % in Cyprus and Sweden (no data available for Bulgaria or Romania).
- Among households of non-native adults, the share of multi-adult households that had children ranged from 18.2 % in Lithuania to 57.2 % in Finland (no data available for Bulgaria, Poland, Romania and Slovakia).
Migration status of adults and working status within households
Figure 3 in the overview section presented an analysis of the working status of adults for various types of households (according to the migration status of their adults). It was noted that there are two household categories that must have at least two adults and that, in the EU in 2022, these were the least likely to have all adults working full-time or to have no adults working. One of these categories – mixed households of native and non-native adults – is presented in Figures 10 to 12 compared with i) households of native adults and ii) households of non-native adults. The figures show, in turn, the shares of households where all adults work (Figure 10), where some but not all adults work (Figure 11) and where no adults work (Figure 12).
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfst_hhmgscomp)
In the EU, the share of households where all adults work varied little by type of household by migration status: 47.9 % for households of native adults; 50.7 % for mixed households of native and non-native adults; and 49.1 % for households of non-native adults.
- In many EU Member States, there was also little difference in this share between the three types of households by migration status. In 15 of the 24 Member States for which complete data are available and reliable, the difference between the highest and lowest shares for the three types of households by migration status was less than 10.0 pp.
- This difference exceeded 20.0 pp only in one Member State, Malta, where the share was considerably higher for households of non-native adults and was lowest for households of native adults.
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfst_hhmgscomp)
Figure 11 presents the share of households where some but not all adults work. By definition, such households must be composed of two or more adults, in other words, multi-adult households. To make the shares for the three types of households by migration status shown in the figure easier to compare, single adult households have been excluded from the denominators. This has been done because only two of the three types of households by migration status can have single households while the third consists only of households with at least two adults.
In the EU, the share of multi-adult households where some but not all adults work varied from 45.2 % for households of non-native adults to 35.8 % for mixed households of native and non-native adults. The share observed for households of native adults was 37.9 %.
- In 12 EU Member States (excluding incomplete data for Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia), the difference between the highest and lowest shares observed for these three types of multi-adult households was less than 10.0 pp.
- By contrast, this difference exceeded 10.0 pp in 12 of the 24 Member States for which data are available.
- This difference was highest in France, where it reached 18.9 pp.
- In most Member States (for which a complete set of data are available), the highest share of multi-adult households where some but not all adults work was observed for households of non-native adults.
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfst_hhmgscomp)
In the EU, the share of households where no adults work was notably lower for one of the three types of households by migration status: 13.4 % for mixed households of native and non-native adults. For comparison, this share was 27.8 % for households of native adults and 27.1 % for households of non-native adults.
- In most EU Member States (excluding incomplete data), there was a relatively large difference in this share between the three types of households by migration status.
- This difference exceeded 20.0 pp in 10 of the 22 Member States for which a complete set of reliable data is available.
- This difference was highest in Lithuania, where it reached 25.6 pp.
- In nearly every Member State, the lowest share of households where no adults were working was observed for mixed households of native and non-native adults. The one exception was Luxembourg where the share was the lowest for households of non-native adults.
Migration status of adults and working status within households with children
This final section looks again at the working status of adults but focusing just on households with children.
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfst_hhmgscomp)
Among the five types of households by migration status of adults presented in Figure 13, households of adult descendants had the highest share of households (with children) in the EU in 2022 where all adults worked, at just over two-thirds (67.1 %). Shares just below two-thirds were also observed for mixed households of native and non-native adults (64.3 %) and for households of native adults (62.5 %). Notably lower shares, closer to two-fifths, were observed for households of foreign-born adults (42.1 %) and mixed households of adult descendants and foreign-born adults (36.8 %).
To some extent, the reverse situation was observed for the share of households (with children) where no adults worked. The most notable exception was for households of adult descendants, which combined the highest share of households (with children) where all adults were working with the highest share where none were working (16.6 %; the same share was recorded for households of foreign-born adults). A somewhat smaller exception was observed for mixed households of adult descendants and foreign-born adults, of which a relatively small share (8.0 %) had no working adults.
As a consequence, the same two types of households by migration status recorded the smallest and largest shares for households (with children) with at least one adult working and at least one adult not working.
- Among households of adult descendants, the share with at least one adult working and at least one adult not working was 16.4 %.
- Among mixed households of adult descendants and foreign-born adults, the equivalent share was 55.2 %.
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfst_hhmgscomp)
Figure 14 presents the share of households with no adults working, again just for households with children. Data are presented for i) households of native adults ii) mixed households of native and non-native adults and iii) households of non-native adults.
In 2022, the share of EU households (with children) where no adults worked was 3.0 % for mixed households of native and non-native adults and 6.1 % for households of native adults. For households of non-native adults, the share was notably higher, at 15.0 %.
Data are available for all three types of households by migration status of adults for 11 EU Member States.
- In all of those ten Member States, the lowest share of households (with children) where no adults worked was among mixed households of native and non-native adults.
- In ten Member States, the highest share of households (with children) where no adults worked was among households of non-native adults. The only exception was Italy, where the shares for households of native adults and households of non-native adults were identical.
Source data for tables and graphs
Data sources
The data presented in this article are from the labour force survey, the largest household sample survey in the EU. The LFS covers the resident population, defined as all people usually residing in private households. Usual residence means the place where a person normally spends the daily period of rest, regardless of temporary absences for purposes of recreation, holidays, visits to friends and relatives, business, medical treatment or religious pilgrimage. The data presented in the article may not be fully consistent with census statistics as LFS covers private households and excludes collective households. The data for the EU are aggregated results for the 27 EU Member States.
Due to the sampling nature of the EU-LFS, some data are with low reliability or not shown due to very low reliability or confidentiality. Such cases are duly marked in the footnotes below the figures and tables. In several EU Member States, the detailed cross-classification of households according to their migration status, their composition and the working status of their adults identifies quite small numbers of people. As the data source is a sample survey, the reliability of data in such cases may be low: data that are of low quality are published with an appropriate footnote while some data cannot be published for reasons of confidentiality.
Households by migration status of adults
The migration status is assigned to the households where individual information on the migration status is available for at least half of the adult household members. Information on the migration status is not available in the following situations.
- There is no answer to the question(s) on the country of birth, country of birth of the father or country of birth of the mother. Households where the majority of adults have no answer to those questions are classified as unknown regarding the migration status of the household as a whole.
- For people aged 75 years and over the questions on the country of birth of their parents are not asked. Households where the majority of adults are aged 75 years and over are classified as not applicable regarding the migration status of the household as a whole.
If the migration status is available for some but not all adults in the household, priority is given in the classification of the household by migration status to the adults with available information if they represent the majority of all household members.
Additionally, there are some rare cases of households in which no adults live. These could be households of so-called emancipated minors. Those cases are also classified as not applicable regarding the migration status of the household as a whole.
In line with international standards, a child is defined as a household member aged less than 18 years. Persons aged 18 years and over are considered as adults.
Households with two adults (not a couple) or more, also referred to as 'other type' of households in this article.
Calculation of shares in totals
Nearly all of the figures in this article present shares of a total. For each of the three analyses presented (household migration status, household composition and working status within households), there is a certain amount of non-response (also called 'unknown'). Wherever possible, the calculation of all shares used in this article is based on a total excluding the number of people classified in the non-response category. As such, all exhaustive breakdowns presented in figures should sum to 100.0 % (allowing for rounding errors).
Note for Spain and France
Spain and France have assessed respondents' attachment to their job and included in employment those who, in their reference week, had an unknown duration of absence but expected to return to the same job once health measures allow it.
Context
With respect to migration status, the data in this article provide information not only on households including foreign-born adults living in the EU but also about native-born adults with at least one foreign-born parent living in households in the EU.
Migrants play an important role in the labour markets and economies of the countries in which they settle. Comprehensive and comparable data on the situation of foreign-born people and the immediate descendants of foreign-born people aim to monitor progress on the situation of migrants and to analyse the factors affecting their integration in and adaptation to the labour market and in the economy.
More information on the policies and legislation in force in this area can be found in an introductory article: Migrant integration statistics introduced.
Notes
- ↑ For more information on age distribution of individuals please consult the article Foreign-born people and their descendants - main characteristics.
Direct access to
Online publications
Methodology
- LFS series – Detailed annual survey results (ESMS metadata file – lfsa_esms)
- EU labour force survey