Households; size, composition, position in the household, 1 January

Changed on: 30 May 2024

Households; size, composition, position in the household, 1 January

CONTENTS

1. General information
2. Definitions and explanation of symbols
3. Links to relevant tables and articles
4. Sources and methods
5. Further information

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

This table contains information about the progress of the households in the Netherlands by size and composition and persons by household position, on 1 January.

Data available from: 1995

Status of the figures:
The figures in this table are final.

With the information available for the reporting years 1995, 1996 and 1997 it is not easy to make an unambiguous assignment of persons in institutional households in three distinct categories of institutions. For this reason the numbers are set as unknown.

Changes as of 30 May 2024:
The figures of 1 January 2024 have been added.

When will new figures be published?
The final figures of 1 January 2025 will be added in the 4th quarter of 2025.

2. DEFINITIONS AND EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS

Definitions:

Household
Private or institutional household.

Private household
A collection of one or more people sharing the same living space, who provide their own everyday needs in a private, non-commercial way.

Institutional household
One or more persons living in one accommodation whose housing and daily needs are provided professionally.
Included are institutions such as nursing homes, homes for the elderly, mental health institutions, forensic psychiatric institutions, institutions for mentally, physically or sensorily disabled persons, drug rehabilitation centres, shelters for the homeless, boarding schools, monasteries, prisons, military barracks, and asylum reception centres, in which persons (will) live for a longer period of time.

Household size
Number of persons in a private household.

Household composition
The classification of private households on the basis of the relationships within the household.

Household position
Position someone has in a household in relation to the reference person of that household.

Reference person
Member of the household on whom the household positions of the other household members are based, and whose characteristics may also be characteristic for the household.
The reference person in a household is chosen as follows:
- the reference person in a heterosexual relationship is always the man;
- in homosexual relationships, the reference person is the older of the two;
- in a single-parent household the reference person is the parent;
- in 'other households' the reference person is the oldest man, or if there are no men, the oldest woman.

Explanation of symbols:

Empty cell : figure not applicable
. : figure is unknown, insufficiently reliable or confidential
* : provisional figure
** : revised provisional figure

3. LINKS TO RELEVANT TABLES AND ARTICLES

Relevant tables:
Population; sex, age, country of origin, country of birth, 1 January
External migration; sex, age, marital status and country of birth
Population; sex, age and marital status, 1 January; 1950-2019

General information on population statistics is available at the Population theme page.

4. SOURCES AND METHODS

Break in series institutional households
Up to and including 2012, data on institutional households were based on address information supplied by municipalities. Since 2014 the data are taken from secondary surveys. 2013 is an intermediate year. The starting point for 2013 was the address information for 2012, supplemented with secondary sources; the quality of data for 2013 may therefore be slightly lower. The main data sources from 2014 onwards are data on individuals who receive residential care under the Chronic Care Act (WLZ, previously the Exceptional Medical Expenses Act, AWBZ) and for which a personal contribution was paid and institutional addresses based on the website zorgkaartnederland.nl. Institutional households are covered better with the method used from 2014 onwards. Also from 2014 onwards, institutional households include asylum seekers that live in refugee centres and are registered as a resident in the Personal Records Database (BRP). As a result of these changes, 249 thousand persons were counted as living in institutional households in 2014, around 35 thousand more than counted using the former method.
Since 2011, a new production method has been used to compile household data. In this new method, data on cohabiting couples from the Tax and Customs Administration are used in addition to data from the population register. The number of persons in institutional households was nearly 11 thousand higher on 1 January 2011 than on 1 January 2010. Around half of this increase was the result of improvements in the survey method.

Break in series private households
As a result of the improved survey method for persons in institutional households, a break in series has occurred from 2014 in the number of single person households/single persons. Around 35 thousand persons categorised as single according to the previous method have shifted to institutional households. The number of single persons rose by only a few thousand from 2013 to 2014. From 2012 to 2013 the increase was 41 thousand persons. As a result, the total increased in the number of households fell from 57 thousand from 2012 to 2013, to 21 thousand from 2013 to 2014.
Since 2011, a new production method has been used to compile household data. In this new method, to compile data household composition, data on cohabiting couples from the Tax and Customs Administration are used in addition to data from the population register. The results based on the new method are in line with previous results, although from 2011 there are some minor shifts between household composition categories. The largest shift was that in the number of ‘other households’ and ‘not-married couples’. In 2011 the number of ‘other households’ was 10 thousand lower than in 2010. The number of not-married couples was 10 thousand higher.

Break in series marital status
From 2010 onwards a small shift has occurred between a number of marital statuses (fewer never married and more married, divorced and widowed respectively).
Because information on some marital statuses was lacking for the period 1998 to 2010 in data used by Statistics Netherlands, 'partnership', 'divorced after partnership' and 'widowed after partnership' were not included in these statistics for this period. For these statistics, the marital status before the partnership was used instead, which was mostly 'never married'.
From 2010 all marital statuses are available.

Break in series late reports
Until 2010, reports on events taking place in a certain year received by Statistics Netherlands after 15 February in the following year were disregarded. These are so-called late reports.
As a result of an improvement in the production process, from 2010 these late reports are included in the year of publication (i.e. not in the year the event took place, but in the year the results are published).

5. FURTHER INFORMATION

Infoservice

Copyright (c) Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen
Reproduction is permitted, provided Statistics Netherlands is quoted as the source.

Topics

Persons by household position

Household:
Private or institutional household.

Private household:
One or more persons sharing the same living space, who provide for their own everyday needs in a private, non-commercial way.

Institutional household:
Household consisting of one or more persons living in one accommodation whose housing and daily needs are provided professionally. 
Included are institutions such as nursing homes, homes for the elderly, mental health institutions, forensic psychiatric institutions, institutions for mentally, physically or sensorily disabled persons, drug rehabilitation centres, shelters for the homeless, boarding schools, monasteries, prisons, military barracks, and asylum reception centres, in which persons (will) live for a longer period of time. From 2014, people in institutional households are presented in three groups, namely: homes for the elderly and nursing homes, other health care institution and other type of institution. 

Household position:
Position someone has in a household in relation to the reference person of that household.

Reference person
Member of the household on whom the household positions of the other household members are based, and whose characteristics may also be characteristic for the household. 
The reference person in a household is chosen as follows:
- the reference person in a heterosexual relationship is always the man; 
- in homosexual relationships, the reference person is the older of the two; 
- in a single-parent household the reference person is the parent; 
- in 'other households' the reference person is the oldest man, or if there are no men, the oldest woman.

Total of the Netherlands

Private households

One or more persons sharing the same living space, who provide for their own everyday needs in a private, non-commercial way.

By household size

Number of persons in a private household.

Total private households

One-person households

Private household consisting of one person.

Multi-person households

A private household consisting of two or more persons.

Total multi-person households

Persons in institutional households

Institutional household:
One or more persons living in one accommodation whose housing and daily needs are provided professionally. 
Included are institutions such as nursing homes, homes for the elderly, mental health institutions, forensic psychiatric institutions, institutions for mentally, physically or sensorily disabled persons, drug rehabilitation centres, shelters for the homeless, boarding schools, monasteries, prisons, military barracks, and asylum reception centres, in which persons (will) live for a longer period of time. From 2014, people in institutional households are presented in three groups, namely:
homes for the elderly and nursing homes, other health care institution and other type of institution.

By type of institution

Institutional household:
One or more persons living in one accommodation whose housing and daily needs are provided professionally. 
Included are institutions such as nursing homes, homes for the elderly, mental health institutions, forensic psychiatric institutions, institutions for mentally, physically or sensorily disabled persons, drug rehabilitation centres, shelters for the homeless, boarding schools, monasteries, prisons, military barracks, and asylum reception centres, in which persons (will) live for a longer period of time. From 2014, people in institutional households are presented in three groups, namely:
homes for the elderly and nursing homes, other health care institution and other type of institution.

Total persons living in institutions

Total of persons living in institutional households.

Homes for the elderly and nursing homes

Homes for permanent residence of old persons, including care such as meals, cleaning, monitoring alarm systems and personal support.

Other health care institution

Other health care institution:
- Mental health and psychiatric institutions, forensic psychiatric institutions, drug rehabilitation centres.
- Institutions for mentally, physically or sensorily disabled persons.
- Shelters for the homeless.

Other type of institution

Other type of institution:
- Educational boarding schools and training schools for police and armed forces
- Monasteries
- Prisons
- Military barracks
- As of January 1st 2014: residents of asylum centres (but only if they are registered in the population register of a Dutch municipality).

Periods
- 1995
- 2000
- 2005
- 2015
- 2020
- 2024

Variables can be dragged to the header, rows or columns of the table. In the header only one item of a variable can be selected.



	Topic
Periods	Persons by household position Total of the Netherlands	Private households By household size Total private households	One-person households	Multi-person households Total multi-person households	Persons in institutional households By type of institution Total persons living in institutions	Homes for the elderly and nursing homes	Other health care institution	Other type of institution
Periods	number
1995	15,424,122	6,468,682	2,109,149	4,359,533	247,708	.	.	.
2000	15,863,943	6,801,008	2,272,219	4,528,789	224,003	136,964	74,648	12,391
2005	16,305,526	7,090,965	2,449,378	4,641,587	213,202	126,667	74,645	11,890
2015	16,900,726	7,665,198	2,867,797	4,797,401	244,794	118,593	104,661	21,540
2020	17,407,585	7,997,800	3,079,778	4,918,022	258,863	119,911	114,394	24,558
2024	17,942,942	8,374,404	3,340,560	5,033,844	289,176	128,686	122,027	38,463

Source: CBS

Households; size, composition, position in the household, 1 January

Changed on: 30 May 2024