Religion and Living Arrangements Around the World

Muslims and Hindus have larger households than Christians and religious ‘nones,’ in patterns influenced by regional norms

 

December 12, 2019

Pew Research Center / Religion and Public Life

 

Members of the Rabari ethnic group in Rajasthan, India. (Tuul and Bruno Morandi/Getty Images)

Muslims and Hindus live in biggest households Our households – who lives with us, how we are related to them and what role we play in that shared space – have a profound effect on our daily experience of the world. A new Pew Research Center analysis of data from 130 countries and territories reveals that the size and composition of households often vary by religious affiliation.

Worldwide, Muslims live in the biggest households, with the average Muslim individual residing in a home of 6.4 people, followed by Hindus at 5.7. Christians fall in the middle (4.5), forming relatively large families in sub-Saharan Africa and smaller ones in Europe. Buddhists (3.9), Jews (3.7) and the religiously unaffiliated (3.7) – defined as those who do not identify with an organized religion, also known as “nones” – live in smaller households, on average.

This report looks at households from the perspective of an average person, rather than an average household. While it is possible to calculate statistics either way, researchers chose the individual perspective because it better captures the lived experience of most people. Consider two homes, one with a family of nine people, the other with a sole resident. The two households contain a total of 10 people, so the average household size is five. But most of the individuals in these two homes – nine out of 10 – live with more than five people. In fact, in this simple example, the average individual resides in a household of 8.2 people. (Here’s the math: Nine individuals, each living among nine people, plus one household of one person, is 9+9+9+9+9+9+9+9+9+1 = 82 /10 people total = an average person residing in a household of 8.2 people.) For more on this topic, see this sidebar.

Household size is one easy way to compare the lived experiences of people around the world. Bigger households are common in less-developed countries, where people tend to have more children and families share limited resources. Smaller households are prevalent in wealthier countries, which tend to have aging populations and lower birth rates.

Household types defined

Extended: A household that includes relatives other than children or partners. For example, adults who live with their siblings or parents in addition to their own children.

Two-parent: Married or cohabiting partners with at least one biological, step or foster child under age 18. Adult children may be present, but no other relatives or non-relatives.

Couple: Married or cohabiting partners with no one else. This includes couples whose children have grown up and moved out.

Adult child: At least one child over the age of 18 with one or two parents; no children under 18.

Solo: One person living alone.

Single-parent: One adult and at least one biological, step or foster child under 18. Adult children may be present, but no other relatives or non-relatives.

Polygamous: Households in which at least one member lives with more than one spouse or cohabiting partner. Other people also may reside in the household. This category does not include every household containing a person who is in a polygamous relationship. For example, two women married to the same man may maintain separate households.

Note: Married and cohabiting partners can include same-sex couples, though these relationships are more likely to be counted in the data sources for some countries than others. Also, individuals living in households with non-relatives, such as roommates, are included in the analysis but not reported as a separate category. People living in institutional settings, such as prisons, college dormitories and nursing homes, are not included. See Methodology for details.

But the number of people in any given household is only one dimension of living arrangements. Since households of the same size can be so qualitatively different from each other – a three-person household might consist of a couple and one child, a child with a parent and grandparent, a husband and two wives, or numerous other combinations – understanding the distribution of various types of households also is valuable.

Globally, the most common household type is the extended family, accounting for 38% of the world’s population. But some religious groups are more likely to live in extended families than others. Hindus are the only major group in which a majority lives with extended family, such as grandparents, uncles and in-laws. Muslims, Christians and Jews are more likely to reside in two-parent households, composed of two partners with one or more minor children. Living alone is unusual among all religious groups, but it is more common among Jews than among the world’s other major religions: About one-in-ten Jews worldwide are in solo households. From a global perspective, Jews also are much more likely than non-Jews to live in households consisting of a couple without children or other relatives.1

How or why religion is linked with living arrangements has been the subject of much research and debate. Holy texts and spiritual leaders offer a range of guidance – from didactic anecdotes to outright prohibitions – on many aspects of family life, including marriage and care for elders. Previous social science research, particularly in the United States, suggests that the extent to which people value religion and participate in a religious community is tied to their patterns of marriage, divorce and childbearing. (For a discussion of how religious teachings and family life may be connected, see this sidebar. For more on academic research exploring the ties between living arrangements and religion, see this sidebar in Chapter 2.)

Buddhists and ‘nones’ are the least likely to live in two-parent familiesTo be sure, religion is far from the only factor – or even the primary factor– affecting household sizes and types around the world. People’s living arrangements are shaped by many circumstances, including laws, cultural norms, personal situations and economic opportunities. Still, examining the connections between households and religion helps to illuminate the conditions under which members of various religious groups grow up, practice their faith and pass on traditions to the next generation.

Geography and other factors affect household formation

Some household patterns can be explained, at least in part, by the distribution of religious groups across the globe. Six-in-ten Christians live in the Americas and Europe, where households tend to be comparatively small, while eight-in-ten Muslims live in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East-North Africa regions, where households generally contain more individuals. Most of the world’s Jews live in the United States and Israel – two economically developed countries where advanced transportation and health care networks, educational opportunities, and other forms of infrastructure affect many life choices, including living arrangements.

At the same time, there are relatively few religiously unaffiliated people in the regions where families are largest – sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East-North Africa. Moreover, because some religious groups are concentrated in a few countries, the economic conditions and government policies in those places can have a big influence on a group’s global household patterns.

China, for example, is home to a majority of the world’s “nones” and about half of all Buddhists. From 1979 to 2016, the Chinese government enforced a “one-child policy” that penalized couples who had more than one child.2 As a result, the size of households among Chinese Buddhists and “nones” is small – and China’s huge population has a big influence on the global figures for these groups. Meanwhile, more than nine-in-ten of the world’s Hindus are found in India, where prevailing cultural norms shape many of the findings for that religious group.

Nigeria exemplifies the complexity and interconnectedness of factors that influence living arrangements. Africa’s most populous country is nearly evenly split between two religious groups, with Muslims and Christians each accounting for about half of the population. These groups have different historical legacies, laws and geographic distributions. Largely due to the influence of Christian missionaries, who entered Nigeria via the Atlantic coastline to the south, most Nigerians in the southern states are Christian, while those living in the north tend to be Muslim. Sections of Africa that were reached by missionaries often have more advanced systems of formal schooling today, while aid and research agencies have found that in Nigeria, the northern states have lower rates of educational attainment and economic development.3

These differences extend to household formation. Typically, Muslims in Nigeria share their homes with almost three more people than their Christian compatriots, with an average household of 8.7 people among Nigerian Muslims, compared with 5.9 among Nigerian Christians. Also, although there is no national law providing for polygamy in Nigeria, polygamous marriages are recognized in 12 northern, Muslim-majority states – and Nigerian Muslims are much more likely than Christians to live in polygamous households (40% vs. 8%). (For a detailed discussion of polygamy in laws and religion, see here.)

In broad strokes, these examples show why it is difficult to isolate the causal impact of religion, which is inextricably linked to economic, geographic, legal and cultural factors not only in Nigeria but around the globe. Each country and part of the world has its own complex set of influences that affect household formation, resulting in a varied landscape of living arrangements.

Among the 130 countries with data available on households and religious affiliation, the household size experienced by the average person ranges from 2.7 people (in Germany) to 13.8 people (in Gambia). By region, people tend to form the smallest households in Europe (3.1) and North America (3.3). The biggest households are in sub-Saharan Africa (6.9) and the Middle East-North Africa (6.2). Latin America and the Caribbean (4.6) and the Asia-Pacific region (5.0) fall in the middle.

Gambians live with 11 more people than Germans, on averageLikewise, certain types of households are more prevalent in some parts of the world than in others. For example, almost half of all people in the Asia-Pacific region live with extended family, compared with just one-in-ten North Americans. Polygamous households are rare outside of West Africa, where the practice is quite common in some countries.4 And couples rarely live on their own – without children or extended family – outside of Europe and North America.

In some Asian and African countries, majorities live with extended familyRegional patterns, in turn, influence the living arrangements among religious groups. Muslims in Europe, for example, generally live in larger households than non-Muslims in Europe (4.1 vs. 3.1, on average). Still, European Muslims follow the region’s overall tendency toward relatively small households, and Muslims in Europe live with fewer people than Muslims in other parts of the world.

Measuring households from the individual’s perspective – why does it matter?

If you have ever been to a crowded beach in the summer, you may be surprised to hear that on average, even the most popular U.S. shores are quite empty. A beach on Martha’s Vineyard, for example, might have hundreds of visitors at noon on a sunny day in July, but just a handful of locals out for a midday walk on a chilly day in November. As a result, the daily average of visitors to that beach might be quite low. But that’s not the experience of most people who have been there. Most people are on beaches when they are crowded.

In the social sciences, this phenomenon is known as the “class size paradox.” It’s the disconnect between an individual-level perspective and a group-level perspective, and it applies to any group (or “class”) of people, including households: The average individual is more likely to experience a big household than a small one, simply because large households have more people in them.

Pew Research Center, for the purposes of this report, chose to present statistics from the individual perspective because the goal is to describe the commonly lived experiences of people – of an average Hindu or an average Buddhist, an average woman or an average child. The authors are inviting readers to imagine the daily lives of ordinary people.

Average person’s household is larger than average household The class size paradox is particularly relevant for researchers seeking to understand living arrangements. Especially in places where big households – including certain expansive types, such as extended families and polygamous arrangements – are common, there can be dramatic differences between the average size or type of households in that country and the experience of the average individual living there.

Take Senegal, for example. Dividing the total number of household dwellers by the total number of households in that West African country (using Demographic and Health Survey data), Pew Research Center researchers found that the average household in Senegal consists of roughly 8.9 people. When researchers made additional calculations to determine household size on the individual level, however, they found that the average person in Senegal lives in a household of 13.5 people.

A similar dynamic unfolds in the United States, even though U.S. households are generally much smaller than Senegal’s. Pew Research Center’s household-level estimate (using General Social Survey data) is that the average household in the U.S. contains 2.5 people. Meanwhile, the individual-level calculation shows that the average individual in the U.S. lives in a household of about 3.4 people.

These differences also appear on the global level. Worldwide, the average household has 3.9 members, but the average person lives in a household of 4.9 members.

The distribution of household types also varies, depending on the level of perspective, for the same reasons. Household types that allow for more people, such as extended-family homes, contain a bigger share of individuals than they represent in the simple percentage of households in any given place. Conversely, solo households are more common at the household level than at the person level, since they can contain only one individual.

Going back to Senegal as an example: 13% of Senegalese households contain polygamous families, while 51% are extended-family homes, and 7% consist of one person living solo. But because polygamous and extended families tend to be large, they are experienced by more people. Indeed, 23% of all Senegalese people live in polygamous homes, and 55% live with extended family, while fewer than 1% live alone. In the U.S., while 19% of all households belong to a two-parent family and 28% belong to a person living alone, the individual-level analysis shows that 33% of Americans live in two-parent homes and 11% live alone.

Household types: Distributions change when perspective shifts To gain a better understanding of how the individual-level figures in this report might differ from the more conventional household-level analysis, our researchers also generated results for all the variables on the household level, whenever possible. The tables in this sidebar summarize the differences.5

Wealth and education: Smaller homes in more-developed countries

Levels of prosperity – defined by a range of measures including financial stability, life expectancy and education – are strongly linked with the size and type of households around the world. Europe and North America, the two wealthiest regions as measured by per-capita gross domestic product, are also those with the smallest households. Conversely, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East-North Africa region, which have the biggest households, have the lowest per-capita GDP.6

Extended-family arrangements in particular are linked with economic development: Financial and other resources stretch farther when shared within one household. Childcare and domestic chores are more easily accomplished if split among several adults living in the same home. Supporting a family in developing countries is often labor-intensive, requiring farming and other activities that benefit from multiple workers. And in countries where governments provide fewer retirement benefits or other safety nets for older adults, families have a greater responsibility to care for aging relatives. (Cultural factors, such as esteem for elders, also play a role.)

On the other hand, people are more likely to live alone in countries with higher levels of schooling. Young adults often delay or forgo childbearing to pursue advanced education, contributing to the tendency of highly educated couples to live without other family members. And in places where people tend to live well beyond their childbearing years, they are more likely to live alone as seniors or as couples without children.

Economic development also affects patterns within regions. In Europe, relatively small households predominate in prosperous European Union countries (the average German or Swede lives in a home of 2.7 people, for example), while larger households are found in the less economically advanced countries of the Balkans (Kosovo 6.8, North Macedonia 4.6). In East Asian countries with advanced economies, people tend to live in smaller-than-average households (South Korea 2.9, Japan 3.1), while residents of less-developed countries in South Asia tend to have bigger households (Afghanistan 9.8, Pakistan 8.5).

Living alone is more common in wealthier countriesAlthough the regional distribution of religious groups often coincides with economic factors that affect the types and sizes of households people tend to live in, there are noticeable differences among religious groups within the six regions covered in this report, and even within single countries.7

Indeed, this report shows that the experiences of religious groups around the world differ in many ways:

  • Islam is the largest religion in all but one of the 15 countries with the biggest households: Benin. These top 15 include nations in Africa, such as Gambia and Senegal; the Middle East, namely Yemen and Iraq; and the Asia-Pacific region, including Afghanistan and Pakistan. On the other hand, Christians and the religiously unaffiliated make up the largest groups in the 15 countries with the world’s smallest households (all of which are located either in Europe or the Asia-Pacific region).
  • Within regions, Muslim-majority countries tend to have larger households, affecting members of all religious groups, while nearby Christian-, Jewish- or Buddhist-majority countries tend to have smaller households. For example, in Kosovo, which has a Muslim majority, both Christians and Muslims tend to live in bigger households than adherents of these religions in nearby Romania, which has a Christian majority.
  • Within countries, religious groups often differ in their living arrangements. In Senegal, for example, Muslims on average live in 14-person households, while Christians live in homes of about nine members. In Nigeria, a nine-member household is the average Muslim’s experience, while the average Christian lives in a six-person home. And in India, Muslims live in the largest households, with an average size of more than six people, compared with slightly fewer than six people for Hindus, on average. Christians in India have even smaller households, with an average of about five members.
  • Relatively few people in any group live alone (4% globally), though Jews (10%), Buddhists (7%), Christians (7%) and “nones” (7%) all live alone at higher rates. Muslims and Hindus rarely form solo households (1% each).
  • Similarly, Muslims and Hindus are the least likely to live as couples (without children or other relatives), with just 3% in each group living in such an arrangement. By contrast, at least one-in-ten Christians, Buddhists and “nones” live this way, as do one-in-five Jews.
  • Polygamy is very rare, except in some sub-Saharan African countries where this type of marriage is largely legal. While African Muslims are more likely than Christians to live in polygamous households (25% vs. 3%), the practice is also widespread among adherents of folk religions (who are not analyzed separately in this report) and “nones” in certain countries.
  • In the U.S., Christians (3.4), “nones” (3.2) and Jews (3.0) live in similarly sized households, on average. However, U.S. Jews are much more likely than non-Jews to live as couples without children or other relatives, and they are less likely to reside in extended families and single-parent households.8
  • Men in every country are older, on average, than their wives or female cohabiting partners. This age gap is widest among Muslims and Hindus, and smallest among Jews and the religiously unaffiliated.
  • Women ages 60 and older are more likely than men in this age group to live alone. Three-in-ten Christian and Jewish women over 60 live alone, while only 6% of Hindus do.
  • More Christians than members of any other religious group live in single-parent homes (6%). And women, particularly Christian women, are more likely than men to live as single parents. In the U.S. – the country with the world’s largest Christian population – about a quarter of children live in single-parent homes, making them more likely than children in any other country to do so. American children in Christian homes are just as likely as those in unaffiliated homes (23% each) to live in single-parent situations.

U.S. children are more likely than children elsewhere to live in single-parent homesThese are among the key findings of a new Pew Research Center analysis of census and survey data collected by governments and survey organizations in 130 countries since 2010. This report was produced by Pew Research Center as part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project, which analyzes religious change and its impact on societies around the world. Funding for the Global Religious Futures project comes from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation. Previous reports from the Global Religious Futures project explored links between religion and gender, education, age and personal well-being, and produced population growth projections for major religious groups.

Statistics come from Pew Research Center analysis of sources, which include Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, Demographic and Health Surveys, census data archived by IPUMS International, General Social Surveys and European Social Surveys, as well as country-specific studies. The study covers countries where 91% of the global population lives.9 Unless otherwise specified, results describe the average living arrangements experienced by people of all ages (that is, children and adults). For more details, see Methodology.

In addition to analyzing household sizes using census and household survey data and transforming it to present the average individual’s perspective (as opposed to the average household), researchers also analyzed eight household types among the major religious groups, broken down by age and gender. The report focuses on descriptions of seven household types that are made up of individuals living alone or with family members, though about 2% of all people living in households fall into the residual eighth (“other”) category, including those who share housing with unrelated roommates or a mix of relatives and non-relatives. All statistics in this report exclude institutionalized populations, such as people in prisons, college dormitories and nursing homes.

The next section of this report explores how holy texts and spiritual leaders have addressed the question of household formation. Subsequent chapters outline patterns in household sizes and types by region and religious group, including a discussion of previous social science research on the connections between living arrangements and religion. The final chapter focuses on how living arrangements vary by age and between women and men.

Religious teachings on families and homes

Holy texts and spiritual leaders have much to say about domestic life. All the major world religions – including but not limited to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism – promote specific types of family formations and offer guidance on the roles that people play within the home. These teachings take many forms, from explicit rules to popular sayings and stories.10

But teachings are not static or universal. Interpretations of religious texts vary by place and shift across time, and religious leaders in the same context often disagree. For nearly two centuries, scripture was used by some U.S. Christian clergy to justify opposition to interracial spousal relationships. But societal views and laws shifted in the 20th century, and Bible passages once viewed as censuring ties between races have largely been pushed aside.

Procreation

Bearing, raising and protecting children is a central theme in many religions. Christianity and Judaism encourage adherents to have children, and in Genesis – the first book of the Jewish Torah and the Christian Old Testament – God commanded humans to “be fruitful and multiply.” The Quran, which emphasizes the importance of motherhood and childbearing, has a handful of references to pregnancy and birth.11

Outside of the Abrahamic religions, the Hindu Vedic texts also contain passages about having children. The Marriage Hymn of the Rig Veda, which is sometimes recited at Hindu weddings, states “Let Prajapati create progeny for us,” and “Generous Indra, give this woman fine sons. … Place ten sons in her and make her husband the eleventh.”12

Buddhism is not considered to be particularly pro-natalist, which some scholars have tied to relatively low fertility rates in that religious group.13

A religion can promote having children even if it does not have specific doctrines endorsing procreation. Some scholars say that teachings of conservative Islam and Christianity indirectly lead people to have more children due to the gender roles they endorse.14 Religion also can indirectly encourage procreation through other means, such as opposition to birth control. In Judaism, a couple’s inability to have children can be grounds for divorce.

Marriage

Closely tied to childbearing, religions often set rules for marriage and sexual relations. According to Genesis 2:18, woman was created because “it is not good that the man should be alone.” In the Christian New Testament, Paul the Apostle wrote, “Because of cases of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.” In Islam, the Quran states that God created “love and mercy” between spouses.

In Hinduism, the ashrama system specifies four stages of the life course, including the second stage of life, grihastha, in which one becomes a householder and focuses on marriage, raising children and fulfilling obligations toward elders and other relatives.

The Laws of Manu, a traditionally authoritative book of Hindu code, states: “Reprehensible is the father who gives not (his daughter in marriage) at the proper time; reprehensible is the husband who approaches not (his wife in due season), and reprehensible is the son who does not protect his mother after her husband has died.”

In Buddhism, the Sig­ālaka Sutta offers instructions on how spouses should treat one another: “There are five ways in which a husband should minister to his wife as the western direction: by honoring her, by not disparaging her, by not being unfaithful to her, by giving authority to her, by providing her with adornments.”15

Scriptures provide a mix of guidance on interfaith marriage. In the Torah, Moses tells the Jews that they must not intermarry with those from the seven nations of Canaan, which some interpret as a prohibition on all religious intermarriage. And, according to the Talmud, a rabbinic commentary on Jewish scripture, both participants must see the marriage ceremony as sacred in order for it to be religiously valid.16 The Christian New Testament, however, is less clear on the topic of intermarriage. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote: “Do not be mismatched with unbelievers,” which is often thought to prohibit marriage to non-Christians. However, Paul also instructed believers not to divorce their unbelieving spouses.

In Islam, critics of interfaith marriage typically cite Surah 2:221: “Do not marry idolatresses until they believe: a believing slave woman is certainly better than an idolatress, even though she may please you. And do not give your women in marriage to idolaters until they believe: a believing slave is certainly better than an idolater, even though he may please you.”

Polygamy

Polygamy was practiced by central figures in Judaism, Christianity and Islam and, more recently, by early leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 19th century. Many prominent biblical figures were polygamous, including Jacob, David and Solomon. Generally speaking, polygamy is no longer encouraged by the leaders of major religions, though it is practiced by some Muslims, fundamentalist Mormon sects and Christians in Africa. Muslim supporters of polygamy often cite Quran verse 4:3, which permits a man to marry up to four women, but encourages him to be monogamous if he cannot be fair to all of them.17 Scholars have interpreted this text as a way to regulate and limit polygamy in seventh-century Arabia, where it was widely practiced. (For more on polygamy laws and teachings, see this sidebar.)

Divorce

Religions often discourage divorce. The Christian New Testament specifies, “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Still, many religions recognize the reality that some marriages will not last. In the Old Testament, Deuteronomy states that the process of divorce is enacted when a man writes his wife a certificate.

The Quran specifies the requirements for divorce and outlines a man’s responsibilities toward his former wife. Islam allows a woman to retain any assets she earns or receives during a marriage and gives her the right to receive support from her former husband.18

According to a Confucian text, The Record of Ritual of the Elder Dai, there are seven valid reasons a husband may divorce his wife – including “if she has no children” or “if she steals” – and three situations in which a wife may not be divorced, including if “there is no longer a home to which she can return.”19

Extended family

Teachings that address the status of elders and other relatives outside of the nuclear family may also encourage certain types of living arrangements, including extended families. Hinduism, which emphasizes a respect for elders, also has guidelines for responsibilities toward other relatives in the second stage of life, the grihastha ashram.20

Judaism and Christianity instruct followers to respect their elders in the Ten Commandments: “Honor your father and your mother.” And the Book of Leviticus, which is part of both Christian and Jewish scripture, states: “You shall rise before the aged, and defer to the old.” Similarly, the New Testament says: “And whoever does not provide for relatives, and especially for family members, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Confucian texts also encourage support for aging parents and emphasize filial piety.21

In these and many other ways, religious leaders, texts and traditions can affect the choices that people around the world make about procreation, marriage, divorce and family life. It would be unwise to view religion as rigidly determining these choices, because so many other factors also come into play. Still, no picture of family sizes and structures would be complete without a closer look at the role of religion.

1. Household patterns by region

Households smallest in Europe, biggest in AfricaPew Research Center analyzed data on living arrangements in 130 countries, including 26 in the Asia-Pacific region, 40 in sub-Saharan Africa, 35 in Europe, 19 in Latin America and the Caribbean, and eight in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the U.S. and Canada, which in this report make up North America.

Globally, the average individual lives in a household of 4.9 people. But there is wide variation around the world: The average person in sub-Saharan Africa resides in a home of 6.9 people, while the average European lives in a home that is less than half that size, at 3.1 members.

Regional differences also are apparent when it comes to household types: For example, more than half of people in the Middle East-North Africa region live in two-parent homes with minor children (56%), compared with about a quarter of Europeans (26%). And more than four-in-ten people in the Asia-Pacific region live in extended families (45%), compared with just one-in-ten North Americans (11%).

Almost half of Asians live in extended families, one-in-ten Europeans live aloneEvery region has its own set of historical, economic, religious and cultural backdrops that influence living arrangements.

Wealthier parts of the world tend to have smaller households. Europeans in general, and particularly Western Europeans, are the most likely of all the regional groups to live alone: For example, Norway has the highest GDP per capita of any country in this study, and 17% of Norwegians live by themselves. Conversely, sub-Saharan African countries have both small GDPs and relatively few people who live alone.

Education is another important factor: The share of people within countries who live in couple-only households generally increases as average years of formal schooling rise and young adults delay or forgo having children. (People also live longer in these countries, which leads to more couples living together after adult children have moved out.)

On the other hand, natural disasters, epidemics and wars also leave their mark on household distributions. In Kenya and Malawi, where tens of thousands of people die each year from HIV/AIDS, single-parent households are relatively common. The HIV epidemic in Africa has affected middle-aged adults more than other age groups, leaving many children and grandparents without this middle generation. In Nepal, a massive earthquake in 2015 killed thousands of people and left millions homeless, forcing many Nepalis to shift their living arrangements and likely affecting household patterns for that country in subsequent surveys.

This chapter looks at the living arrangements in each region and within the major religious groups when they are sufficiently represented. The data in this report covers 91% of the global population, representing at least 85% of people in each major religious group. But groups are unevenly distributed around the world, and the number of religious groups compared within each region varies, reflecting the global distribution of religions and variation in the sample sizes of source surveys. For details on data sources and coverage, see Methodology.

The analysis starts with the average household sizes experienced by adherents of each religion, followed by a discussion of the most common household types. The regions are ordered by population size, starting with Asia and the Pacific.

Living as a couple is more common where education levels are high

Asia and the Pacific

In Asia-Pacific region, Muslims and Hindus have larger households than Buddhists and ‘nones’The Asia-Pacific region is a good example of the way household sizes can vary within a single part of the world. The most religiously varied of all the regions – in part because it is the largest, home to more than half of the world’s population – Asia-Pacific has hundreds of millions of Muslims, Hindus, “nones,” Christians and Buddhists. In addition, the economies of the region’s 26 countries with available data range from Japan – one of the world’s wealthiest countries – to Nepal, one of the poorest.

On average, people in the Asia-Pacific region live in five-member households. Asian Muslims (6.0) and Hindus (5.7), on average, reside in households that are slightly bigger than those of Asians overall, while Asian Buddhists (3.9) and “nones” (3.7) have relatively small households.

Asia-Pacific stands out globally because it has the biggest share of people living in extended families (45%); it is the only region where that type of arrangement is more common than the two-parent family. This region, along with the Middle East-North Africa region, also has the smallest share of people in single-parent homes (2% in each).

Living in single-parent families is rare in Asia-Pacific regionThese overall patterns are driven by India and China, which together account for more than 60% of the region’s population, encompassing the majority of Asian Hindus, Buddhists and “nones.” (Muslims in Asia and the Pacific are most numerous in Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, while Christians, who make up a relatively small percentage of the regional population, are concentrated in the Philippines and China.)

Extended families are the most common household type in both India (54%) and China (44%). The concentration of Hindus in extended families on a global level reflects typical living arrangements in India, where 94% of the world’s Hindus reside. Extended families also are common in most other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, encompassing more than half of Muslims in Tajikistan (67%), Buddhists in Vietnam (56%) and “nones” in Taiwan (51%).

However, when it comes to household size, India and China are at opposite ends of the regional scale: The average Indian lives in a fairly big household (5.8), while the average person in China resides in a smaller household (3.8). Across the region, the countries with the smallest households tend to have large shares of Buddhists or unaffiliated people (or both). That includes China, but also Japan, South Korea, Mongolia and Thailand – where the average household size is about four people or fewer.

Northeast Asia stands out for its high frequency of solo households. South Korea’s general population has among the world’s highest rates of people living alone (21% – second only to Denmark), with South Korean “nones” (24%) and Christians (21%) more likely than Buddhists (14%) to live alone. Japan (15%) also has a relatively large share of people living alone, with Buddhists and “nones” about equally likely to do so.

As in other parts of the world, Muslims in the Asia-Pacific region tend to share their homes with more people. Afghanistan and Pakistan, which are overwhelmingly Muslim, also are the two countries where Asians live in the biggest households (9.8 and 8.5 people, respectively). Moreover, Muslims have larger households than their countrymen in a range of other countries – including some without Muslim majorities, such as India and the Philippines. However, Muslims’ tendency to live in fairly big households is not universal: The Muslim-majority countries of Indonesia (4.7) and Iran (4.1) have relatively small households by regional standards.

The average Afghan lives with seven more people than the typical South Korean

Sub-Saharan Africa

Muslims live in larger households than Christians in sub-Saharan AfricaHousehold patterns vary widely across sub-Saharan Africa, with clear differences that can be measured in different parts of the region, across country borders and between religious groups in single countries. The region’s population is mostly Christian, with a substantial Muslim minority. In some countries, large Muslim and Christian populations live side by side.

Overall, sub-Saharan Africans live in the world’s biggest households, at an average of 6.9 people per household, with Muslims (8.5) in more expansive arrangements than Christians (6.0). The religiously unaffiliated and Hindus, who make up less than 4% of the regional population, have smaller homes – 5.7 and 3.9 people, respectively.

Within sub-Saharan Africa, the nations with the largest households tend to be in West Africa and have majority Muslim populations. In Gambia, Senegal and Mali – three neighboring countries with the largest overall household sizes – at least 90% of people are Muslim and the average person lives in a household of 12.6 people or more. Christians in those places also have the biggest households of Christians in any country, with as many as 10.3 people, though they live in smaller homes than their Muslim compatriots.

The region’s smallest households, meanwhile, are found in countries where Christians form a majority: In Sao Tome and Principe, South Africa, Madagascar and Rwanda, where Christians make up 80% or more of the population, the average person lives in a household of about five people. In an exception to the overall global and regional pattern, Muslims in Madagascar live in smaller households than Christians. (In South Africa and Rwanda, there is not much of a difference, and in Sao Tome no data is available for Muslims.)

In sub-Saharan Africa, many live in homes of six people or moreOverall, sub-Saharan Africans are about as likely to live in two-parent households (37%) as in extended families (35%). The region is unique in its high rate of people living in polygamous homes, with 11% in this arrangement, much higher than the 2% global average. (This practice is particularly common in West and Central Africa. For a more detailed discussion of polygamous households, see below.) Sub-Saharan Africa also has the smallest percentage of people in adult child households (2%).

While sub-Saharan African Christians are about as likely to live in two-parent families (38%) as in extended families (39%), Muslims are more frequently found in two-parent families (37%) than in extended families (27%). The smaller share of Muslims in extended families may be related to a higher prevalence of polygamous households among Muslims.

In sub-Saharan Africa, Christians are less likely than Muslims to live in polygamous familiesIn Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, two-thirds or more of Christians live in extended families (66% and 74%), making these the sub-Saharan African communities most likely to do so. Extended families are least often found among Muslims in Nigeria, only 13% of whom reside in that type of home.

Polygamy is very common in some African countries

Around the world, polygamy is very rare. About 2% of people globally live in households in which at least one member has more than one spouse or partner. The practice is illegal in most countries, and laws that allow it are primarily found in the Middle East and Africa.22 (For more on polygamy laws and religious teachings, see this sidebar.)

In sub-Saharan Africa, however, polygamy is practiced in a group of West and Central African countries that sometimes are referred to as the “polygamy belt” – and they include Muslim-majority countries such as Senegal, Gambia and Mali, as well as Christian-majority nations such as Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Benin.23

Still, most of the countries that allow polygamy are majority-Muslim – and an analysis of sub-Saharan Africa specifically shows that Muslims there are more likely than Christians, Hindus or the unaffiliated to live in polygamous households. There also is a high rate of polygamy among adherents of African folk religions – and, in a few countries, among “nones.” (Christian churches with historic ties to Western missionaries tend to reject this type of marriage, although many churches that have their roots in African communities allow it. Polygamy is an accepted practice in some tribal and ethnic cultures.24)

Among Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa, a quarter live in polygamous households, compared with 3% of African Christians and 5% of the unaffiliated. Among people who do not belong to any of these groups and instead identify with traditions that can be described as folk religions, 19% live in polygamous households.25

Overall, the share of all sub-Saharan Africans living in polygamous households is 11%. In six countries – Burkina Faso, Mali, Gambia, Niger, Nigeria and Guinea – at least a quarter of the population lives in polygamous homes.26 Polygamy is legal in all of these countries, at least to some extent. In Nigeria, polygamy is banned under civil law, but 12 northern states governed by Shariah law allow it.27

Burkina Faso has sub-Saharan Africa’s largest share of people living in polygamous households (36%), including nearly half of those who practice folk religions (45%), making them the likeliest of all religious groups to live in this arrangement. Four-in-ten Muslims in Burkina Faso live in polygamous households, followed by roughly a quarter of Christians (24%). (Burkina Faso is largely Muslim, with a sizable Christian minority.) In Cameroon, which is majority Christian but has a sizable Muslim minority, the percentages of people living in polygamous households are 32% for adherents of folk religions, 26% for Muslims, 19% for “nones” and 7% for Christians. A similar pattern exists in Togo.

In Nigeria – Africa’s most populous country, where roughly half the population is Muslim and half is Christian – 28% of all people live in polygamous households. This arrangement is widespread among Muslims (40%) and adherents of folk religions (29%) but is less common among Christians (8%).

In Chad, the unaffiliated have the highest rates of polygamy, with about four-in-ten “nones” in this arrangement. Chad is also the only country where Christians (21%) are much more likely than Muslims (10%) to live in polygamous households.

Polygamy in laws and religion

Laws

Although polygamy is illegal in most places, over 50 countries – largely in the Middle East and Africa, but also in Asia – allow it to at least some degree. Polygamous marriages are almost always polygynist, with one man taking multiple wives; rules often specify that a man may marry up to four women if certain conditions are met. There are a few countries in which polygamy is illegal but relatively common, and many where the opposite is true.28

Among the countries covered in this report, polygamy is most widely practiced in West Africa, where that type of arrangement is often permitted by customary law or religious tradition, if not by civil law, according to the OECD. In six countries – Benin, Cabo Verde, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria – polygamy is formally prohibited but tolerated. Some countries, including Burkina Faso and Togo, allow couples to choose between a monogamous or polygamous arrangement at the outset of their marriage. In others, including Mauritania, a man must obtain permission from his spouse or spouses before marrying again. In Nigeria, polygamy is banned at the national level, but recognized by the 12 northern states regulated by Shariah law.

In the Middle East-North Africa region, polygamy is legal in Iraq, Yemen, Algeria and Egypt, but fewer than 3% of individuals in those countries live in polygamous households. (Polygamy is also legal in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and most other countries in the Middle East and North Africa, but data is not available on household composition and religion outside of the eight countries covered in this report.) In Asia, this arrangement is both allowed and rare in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran and Afghanistan. In India, polygamy is legal only for Muslims, but a fraction of 1% of Indian Muslims – no more than any other religious group – live in polygamous homes.

Even though polygamy laws are usually skewed in favor of allowing men (but not women) to take multiple spouses, women are sometimes granted rights as well. For example, in Burkina Faso and Chad, two countries where polygamy is common, first wives must state whether they eventually want to be polygamous before they marry, and several other countries require the first wife’s permission before the husband can marry other wives. Other countries set guidelines on what men owe to their spouses; this is the case in Mali, where men are allowed as many as four wives but are obligated to treat them equally and to ensure the welfare, education and moral development of all of their children. Not all countries where polygamy is common take these issues into account: In Guinea-Bissau, early and forced marriage, levirate marriage (the practice of requiring a widow to marry her late husband’s brother), and polygamy are widespread, and no legal guidelines apply.

Theology

The history and theology surrounding polygamy are complex. Taking multiple spouses – particularly wives – has been approved of at one point or another, and practiced to some degree, in various religions.

In Judaism and Christianity, the Bible refers to several instances of accepted plural marriages, including by Abraham, Jacob and David. However, plural marriages were disavowed by these groups in the Middle Ages, and polygamy generally has not been condoned by Jews or Christians in recent centuries.29 Still, polygamy sometimes was practiced by certain Christian sects, including by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called Mormons) in the U.S. until the late 1800s. Some Mormon splinter groups still practice polygamy.

In Africa, Christian missionaries who arrived in the 18th century targeted the indigenous practice of polygamy as a priority for reform, and marriage became a point of conflict.30 Studies have found that these efforts were often successful, and polygamy in Africa has diminished over the past century, particularly in countries that have been influenced by Christian missionaries, according to James Fenske, an economist at the University of Warwick. However, many Christian churches without Western origins allow polygamy, which may help explain its continued prevalence in some Christian communities.31

Among Muslims, supporters of polygamy often cite Quran verse 4:3, which instructs men to take as many wives as they can take care of, up to four. They also note that the Prophet Muhammad had multiple wives. However, scholars point out that early Muslim populations lived in communities where polygamy was widespread, and that Islam limited the practice by providing guidelines and specifying obligations of husbands to each of their wives. These conditions of fairness are so demanding that they essentially make polygamy “impossible for a righteous man,” according to Azizah Al-Hibri and Raja El Habti in a chapter of “Sex, Marriage, and Family in World Religions.”32

Historians also have noted that Islamic guidance on polygamy was issued amid wars in Arabia, when there were many widows and orphans requiring financial support, and that polygamy created a system for them to be cared for. To this day, polygamy is most common in places where people, and particularly men, tend to die young.

Living in polygamous households is very uncommon in most places

Europe

Almost three-quarters of Europeans are Christian, but there also are substantial minorities of “nones” and Muslims in Europe.33

In the 35 countries studied, the average European lives in a household of 3.1 people, with the two largest groups – Christians and the unaffiliated – at 3.1 and 3.0, respectively. European Muslims, on average, live in households of 4.1 people. Europe is the region where all three of these groups have the smallest households worldwide. Most of the countries in the region are economically advanced.

Christians, Muslims and ‘nones’ have their smallest households in EuropeOverall, Europe’s smallest households belong to Germans, Danes and Swedes (all at 2.7 members, on average). As in other parts of the world, countries with larger shares of Muslims tend to have bigger households.

In Kosovo, where 94% of the population is Muslim, the average person belongs to a household of 6.8 people, making this the European country with the most expansive living arrangements. In nearby majority-Muslim Albania, people also reside in fairly large households by European standards (4.6).

Other countries on the high end of the European scale are North Macedonia (4.6) and Montenegro (4.3), where majorities of the population are Christian, but Muslims make up sizable minorities. Wealth may explain some of these numbers: These Balkan countries are among the poorest in the region and are not European Union members. Nevertheless, within three of these four countries, Muslims have larger households than Christians.

In Europe, small households are the normWhen it comes to household types, Europe stands out for having the biggest share of people living alone: 13% of Europeans live in solo households, even more than the share of North Americans who do so (11%) and more than three times the global average (4%). European “nones” and Christians live alone at similar rates (14% and 13%, respectively). Though European Muslims are less likely to live alone (7%), they are more likely to live alone than Muslims anywhere else in the world.

Europe also stands out for having a large share of people living as couples without children or any other relatives (19%, similar to North America’s 20%). Living in a couple-only household is the most common arrangement for Christians in several Western European countries, including in Sweden, Germany, France, Finland and the Netherlands, where more than a quarter of Christians live this way. Couples also are the most common arrangement for “nones” in Finland and Germany. Ireland is an exception to this pattern: Irish Christians are three times as likely to live as a couple with children (40%) than as a couple without children (13%).

Europe is the region with the largest share of people in solo householdsMuslims across Europe are the least likely group to live in couple-only households, both in Muslim-majority countries such as Kosovo (2%) and in predominantly Christian countries such as Romania (9%).

By the same token, while only about a quarter of all Europeans live with extended family, shares are much higher in Eastern Europe, especially among Balkan Muslims. In fact, Muslims are more likely than Christians or the unaffiliated to live with extended family in every country with sufficient numbers of Muslims to compare (Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania and Russia) except Serbia, where Muslims live in this arrangement about as often as Christians do. In all of these countries (with the exception of Albania), Muslims are less likely than Christians to live alone.

In Europe, Muslims more likely than Christians to live with extended families

Latin America and the Caribbean

In Latin America-Caribbean region, narrow gaps in household size by religionLatin America and the Caribbean is one of the least religiously diverse regions analyzed in this report, with a large Christian majority (90%), a modest share of religiously unaffiliated people (8%), and small shares of other groups, like Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and Jews.34

Overall, the average Latin American lives in a household of 4.6 people, which is also the average for Christians and similar to Hindus and the unaffiliated (4.4).

The largest households belong to Guatemalans (6.1 people) and the smallest to Puerto Ricans (3.5). The region’s most populous countries are clustered in between, with Mexicans and Peruvians (both 4.9) residing in households that are somewhat bigger than Brazilians’ (4.2).35

Guatemalans live in the biggest households in Latin America Two-parent households (39%) are the most common arrangement in Latin America, followed by extended families (32%). Unlike other regions, Latin America does not stand out for having stark outliers in its distribution across household types: Overall, people in this region are not substantially more or less likely than others around the world to live in, say, solo or polygamous households.

There also tend not to be striking differences between Christians and religiously unaffiliated people or minority religious groups, but exceptions certainly exist.

In Jamaica, the unaffiliated live alone more than twice as commonly as Christians, with 16% of “nones” living solo in a country where only 6% of Christians do. And Hindus living in Guyana, where they make up almost a quarter of the population, have one fewer person per household (4.3 vs. 5.3) and are half as likely to live in single-parent households as Christians in the same small country (4% vs. 8%).In Latin America, similar shares of Christians and ‘nones’ live in each household type

The Middle East and North Africa

In the Middle East and North Africa, Muslims live in larger households than JewsThe Middle East illustrates the way household patterns can vary in countries that are close neighbors but have very different economic, religious and cultural contexts.

The region’s population is 93% Muslim, 4% Christian and less than 2% Jewish; this report covers seven Muslim-majority nations and Israel, where virtually all Middle Eastern Jews reside. Reliable data on Christians is available only in Egypt and Iraq.

Overall, the average person in the Middle East-North Africa region lives in a fairly expansive household, with 6.2 members. People in Yemen (8.6) and Iraq (7.7) reside in the biggest households, while Tunisians (4.9) and Israelis (4.5) belong to the smallest households.

As is the case in other regions, Muslims live in the largest households (6.3 members), followed by Christians (4.6) and Jews (4.3). There are notable differences even within countries: In Israel, Jews on average live with one fewer person than Muslims do (4.3 vs. 5.2).

The average Yemeni lives with nearly twice as many people as the average IsraeliThe Middle East and North Africa stands out as the region where people are more likely than anywhere else to live in two-parent households. More than half of Middle Eastern Muslims and Christians live in this arrangement (57% and 58%, respectively).

Muslims in the Palestinian territories are the most likely group in the world to live in two-parent families (71%). Israeli Jews do so at about half that rate (35%), making them the least likely group in the region to live in a two-parent household. Even within Israel, Muslims live in two-parent families much more often than Jews, with half of Israeli Muslims in this arrangement.

Christians have Middle East-North Africa region’s lowest share of extended-family householdsIsrael is different from other countries studied in that it is the only Jewish-majority nation – most Israelis are Jewish, and over 98% of Jews in the region live in Israel. The country also has a longer life expectancy than any of its neighbors, the highest overall levels of education, and a per-person GDP that is more than twice as big as the second-richest Middle Eastern country in this study, Iraq.

Of all the Middle East and North African countries in this study, Israel has the highest share of people who live alone (6%). Israelis also are much more likely than others in the region to live in couple-only households.

Polygamous relationships are legally recognized in at least some circumstances in parts of the Middle East-North Africa region, including several countries analyzed in this report – Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Yemen. In these countries, however, polygamy is rare: Iraqis and Yemenis are the most likely to live in this type of household (2% each). Data is not available from many of the countries where polygamy is legal and presumed to be more common, such as Saudi Arabia.

North America

North American Christians, ‘nones’ and Jews have similar sized householdsIn North America, Christians account for a majority of the population, while a rapidly growing share identifies with no religion, and fewer than one-in-ten affiliate with Islam, Judaism or other non-Christian religions. The United States and Canada are the only countries included in the North America region in this report; Mexico is included in the Latin America-Caribbean region.

Because the U.S. population is much larger than Canada’s, U.S. household patterns have a much bigger influence on the overall numbers for the region, though the two countries have similar religious makeups and comparable levels of education, life expectancy and economic development.

On average, North Americans live in the world’s second-smallest households, after Europeans, with an average of 3.3 members. Regional figures, available for Christians, “nones” and Jews, show a narrow range of household sizes across religious groups: North American Christians live in slightly bigger households (3.4 people) than their unaffiliated (3.2) or Jewish (3.0) counterparts.

A sufficient number of Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims were surveyed to represent the characteristics of their households in Canada, but not in the U.S., and therefore not regionally. In Canada, these religious minority groups have larger households than Christians (3.2) or the unaffiliated (3.1). Muslims and Hindus live in the biggest households, with an average of 4.4 and 4.3 members, respectively, followed by Buddhists (3.9).

Three-in-ten North American Jews live in couple-only householdsSmall shares of North Americans overall live with extended family (11%). However, Canadian Hindus (28%), Buddhists (23%) and Muslims (16%) are more likely than other Canadians to live with extended family. Among the groups with available data in both Canada and the U.S., the religiously unaffiliated are the most likely to reside in extended-family arrangements (14%), followed by Christians (9%) and Jews (6%).

The U.S. share of people living in single-parent families across all religious groups (9%) is among the highest in the world, behind only a handful of countries where the rate is higher: Sao Tome and Principe (15%), Kenya (12%), Jamaica and Rwanda (11% each).36 Fewer North American Jews live in this arrangement than Christians or “nones,” with only 5% in single-parent households. Jews also stand out with a relatively high share of people living in couple-only households – three-in-ten, compared with about one-in-five Christians and “nones.”

More people in U.S. than in other developed countries live in single-parent homes

2. Household patterns by religion

Pew Research Center analyzed data on six religious groups – Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews and people with no religious affiliation.37

Globally, the average Muslim lives in the biggest household (6.4 people), followed by the average Hindu (5.7), Christian (4.5), Buddhist (3.9), “none” (3.7) and Jew (3.7). Religious groups also vary in the types of households they are most likely to occupy: Hindus, Buddhists and the religiously unaffiliated most often reside in extended families, while Muslims, Christians and Jews have larger shares in two-parent homes.

But religious groups are not monolithic, and followers of the same religion living in different parts of the world often vary substantially from each other. The experiences of religious groups are sometimes closely tied to the patterns found in the regions where they reside.

Hindus and Buddhists are concentrated in Asia, while Christians are most evenly scattered globallyReligious groups also are distributed unevenly around the world. Christians are the most evenly scattered, with no more than a quarter living in any one region. The majority of Muslims, meanwhile, live in the Asia-Pacific region, but there are also large Muslim populations in the Middle East-North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa regions. Most of the world’s religiously unaffiliated people and even larger shares of all Buddhists and Hindus live in Asia, while Jews are concentrated in Israel and the United States.

This report does not attempt to determine exactly how religion shapes household patterns. It is difficult to quantify the extent to which religion, on its own, affects people’s living arrangements – or conversely, how a person’s home life influences their religious affiliation. Still, comparing a single religious group in a country or region to the rest of the population may help illuminate possible connections between living arrangements and religion.

This chapter examines each religious group separately and explores not only how the experiences of each group’s adherents vary from region to region, but also how their experiences compare with those of people who are not of that religion.

Information is provided on religious groups within regions when there are sufficient survey data to represent at least one-third of that group’s regional population and when that group has at least 500,000 adherents in that region. For example, enough Buddhists were surveyed in the Latin America-Caribbean region to represent 61% of the regional population – surpassing the one-third cutoff. However, only about 430,000 of the world’s 499 million Buddhists (about one-tenth of 1%) live in the region, so figures for Latin American Buddhists were not presented. See the Methodology for more details.

The analysis of religious groups is presented in descending order of the groups’ size, starting with Christians, who make up the world’s largest religion.

Christians

Christians account for nearly a third of the global population, making them the largest of the major religious groups. They also are the most broadly distributed, with roughly equal percentages living in Europe (24%), Latin America and the Caribbean (25%) and sub-Saharan Africa (26%). The Asia-Pacific region and North America together account for most of the remaining quarter; the share of Christians who reside in the Middle East-North Africa region is less than 1%.

In terms of their shares of the regional populations, Christians represent majorities in Latin America and the Caribbean (90%), North America (76%), Europe (73%) and sub-Saharan Africa (62%), and small minorities in the Asia-Pacific region (7%) and the Middle East and North Africa (4%).

Christians: Household size

Globally, Christians live in slightly smaller households than othersGlobally, Christians are the largest group in 12 of the 15 countries with the smallest households. Christians around the world live in somewhat smaller households, on average, than non-Christians (4.5 vs. 5.1 members). Christians have their smallest households in North America (3.4) and Europe (3.1), and – by a wide margin – their largest households in sub-Saharan Africa (6.0). Christians live with the largest number of people in Gambia, where their households contain 10.3 people, on average. And Christians’ smallest households are in Denmark and Sweden, both with an average of 2.6 people.

The tendency of Christians to live in smaller households than others is particularly pronounced in areas where they live alongside Muslims: In sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East-North Africa region, Christians have households with roughly two fewer people than non-Christians, on average. In other parts of the world, the gaps between Christians and others are much smaller.

Average Christian in sub-Saharan Africa lives with three more people than a Christian in Europe

Christians: Household types

Christians around the world are most likely to live in two-parent families with minor children, and they do so at about the same rate as everyone else (34% vs. 32%). But Christians are markedly less likely than others to live in extended families (29% vs. 42%). In fact, Christians are the least likely group – aside from Jews (17%) – to live with a wider circle of relatives.

Christians live with extended family less often than othersOn the other hand, Christians are more likely than non-Christians to live in household types that have few members: Larger shares of Christians live alone (7% vs. 3%) or as couples without other family members (11% vs. 7%). In some countries, such as Sweden (35%) and Germany (32%), living in a couple-only household is the most common arrangement for Christians.

Globally, Christians also are more likely than non-Christians to live in single-parent households (6% vs. 3%), a type of arrangement that is generally more common in North America, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America – all Christian-majority regions. Within these regions, Christians live in single-parent families at close to the same rates as non-Christians.

In the Asia-Pacific, Latin America-Caribbean, Middle East-North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa regions, Christians overwhelmingly live in extended or two-parent families, with combined shares of more than 70%. Far fewer European Christians (49%) and North American Christians (43%) reside in those types of households, and they are more likely than Christians elsewhere to live alone (13% and 11%, respectively) or as a couple (21% in both regions).

Globally, Christians are more likely than others to live in solo, single-parent or couple-only households

Muslims

About a quarter of all people are Muslims, making them the world’s second-largest religious group (and the fastest-growing major group). Over six-in-ten Muslims – about a billion – live in the Asia-Pacific region, and most other Muslims live in the Middle East-North Africa (20%) or sub-Saharan Africa (16%) regions.

Muslims represent more than nine-in-ten people in the Middle East and North Africa, about three-in-ten sub-Saharan Africans and a quarter of the population in the Asia-Pacific region. Elsewhere, Muslims are small minorities, accounting for 6% of the population in Europe, 1% in North America and a statistically negligible fraction in Latin America.38

Muslims: Household size

Muslims in every region have larger householdsGlobally, in the 15 countries with the biggest households, Islam is the largest religion in all but one – Benin. Muslims around the world live in households with an average of approximately two more people than non-Muslims (6.4 vs. 4.5), and they reside in larger families than non-Muslims in every region analyzed.

One reason Muslims live in larger households is that they tend to have more children compared with other religious groups. Muslims around the world also are relatively young; in a handful of Muslim-majority countries, half or more of the population is under 18, and children are unlikely to live alone or in a couple-only arrangement.

In sub-Saharan Africa, Muslims have their biggest households (8.5 people, on average) and also the widest gap in size compared with non-Muslims (6.1). The biggest households identified in this study belong to Muslims in Gambia (13.9), Senegal (13.6) and Mali (12.8) – all countries that have high rates of polygamy (see Chapter 1).

Like other religious groups, Muslims have their smallest households in Europe. Still, in European countries with enough representation to compare Muslims with others, the average Muslim lives with more people than the average non-Muslim.

The opposite is true in the country with the world’s largest Muslim population: In Indonesia, Muslims live in households with an average of 4.6 members, while non-Muslims (who are mostly Christian) live in households of 5.1 people, on average.

Muslims in Gambia live with an average of 10 more people than Muslims in Russia

Muslims: Household types

Muslims are less likely than others to live in households that contain no children or extended family. Only about 5% of Muslims live either alone or as a couple without children, compared with about 15% of non-Muslims. And Muslims are much more likely than others to live in two-parent homes with minor children (43% vs. 30%).

Muslims live in two-parent families more than other groupsWithin regions, Muslims often differ from non-Muslims. In Asia and the Pacific, for example, four-in-ten Muslims live in two-parent homes, compared with three-in-ten non-Muslims. In Europe, Muslims are notably more likely than others to live in two-parent or extended-family households, and they are much less likely than non-Muslims to live in couple-only households (7% vs. 20%).

In sub-Saharan Africa, Muslims live in extended-family households less frequently than others (27% vs. 39%). Conversely, Muslims are much more likely than others in this region to reside in polygamous homes (25% vs. 3%). (For more about polygamy in sub-Saharan Africa, see here.)

Muslims are unique in their relatively large share of adherents living in polygamous households. Worldwide, in the countries studied, about 5% of Muslims live in this type of arrangement, which means that more Muslims live in polygamous households than live in solo, single-parent or couple-only households. This estimate may even be conservative because suitable data was not available from some Muslim-majority Persian Gulf countries where polygamy is legal and assumed to be common.39

Muslims rarely live alone or as a couple with no other relatives

Religiously unaffiliated

Like Christians, Muslims and other groups, the religiously unaffiliated have an array of identities and beliefs. Atheists, agnostics and people who do not identify with any religious group are all classified as unaffiliated.

While the term “nones” has become widely accepted as shorthand for the religiously unaffiliated, this category also includes people who consider themselves religious and hold a mix of religious beliefs. Some people may choose “no religion” in response to a religious identity question on a survey because no other response option captures their identity. “Nones” may believe in deities, astrology or traditional religions – or they may believe in no supernatural beings whatsoever.

Together, these people represent 16% of the global population and make up the third-largest group. A majority of all religious “nones” live in Asia, with six-in-ten found in China alone. About 12% of the unaffiliated reside in Europe, and 6% are in North America. Fewer than 5% live in each of the remaining regions.

In terms of their share of regional populations, just over one-fifth of people in the Asia-Pacific region are religious “nones,” as are similar shares of Europeans and North Americans. About 8% of the total population in Latin America and the Caribbean, 3% of sub-Saharan Africans and less than 1% of all people in the Middle East-North Africa region have no religious affiliation.

Economic development and its influence on households is particularly relevant for the living arrangements of the religiously unaffiliated. Many “nones” live in richer countries with relatively high education levels and greater workforce participation, particularly among women. People in such countries typically have easy access to birth control, and, as they spend more years in school and working outside the home, they tend to have children later in life and therefore have less time for childbearing. They also have high life expectancies, which may increase their chances of living without young children in their care. Individuals, couples and small families can afford to live alone, rather than with other relatives.

Unaffiliated: Household size

Nones’ live with fewer people than othersSince three-quarters of “nones” live in the Asia-Pacific region, norms in this region set the tone for this group worldwide, and China is particularly numerically influential. Indeed, relatively small households in China are one reason that religiously unaffiliated people globally live in substantially smaller households than affiliated people (3.7 vs. 5.2 people, on average). Similar gaps exist in the Asia-Pacific region and sub-Saharan Africa, but not in North America, Europe and the Latin America-Caribbean region; affiliated and unaffiliated people do not differ much in their household sizes in those regions.

“Nones” follow typical regional patterns in relative household size, with the largest families in sub-Saharan Africa (5.7) and the smallest in Europe (3.0). At the country level, the unaffiliated have their smallest households in Germany (2.5 people, on average) and their biggest households in Chad (9.2).

Chad is one of only four countries in which the unaffiliated live in bigger households than their affiliated counterparts, and the gap is at least 0.5 people (Chadians with a religious affiliation live in households of 7.8 people, on average).40 In other countries, the unaffiliated live in households that are smaller than, or similar in size to, religiously affiliated households.

The average ‘none’ in Chad lives with about seven more people than the average ‘none’ in GermanyDifferences in both household sizes and types are underpinned by the relatively high median age of the unaffiliated population (36 years, compared with 29 years for affiliated people) and their lower-than-average fertility rates. Globally, the average unaffiliated woman is expected to have about 1.6 children in her lifetime, compared with 2.5 for affiliated women.

Unaffiliated: Household types

Living alone is more common among the religiously unaffiliated than among others (7% vs. 4%), as is living in a couple-only arrangement (14% vs. 7%) or in adult child households (12% vs. 9%). Conversely, fewer of the unaffiliated live in two-parent households with minor children (26% vs. 34%) or in single-parent homes (2% vs. 4%). Just over a third of “nones” live in extended-family homes, similar to the share of the affiliated who do so.

Nones’ are more likely than others to live alone or in a coupleThe small share of single-parent families among the unaffiliated worldwide is tied to the concentration of the unaffiliated in the Asia-Pacific region, where living in this type of household is uncommon across religious groups. This is especially true in China and South Korea, where many unaffiliated people live and single-parent families are particularly rare.

In sub-Saharan Africa, “nones” stand out for living alone at the highest rate of any group in the region (7%) – more than three times the share of affiliated people (2%). “Nones” in the Asia-Pacific region also are more likely than others to live alone (6% vs. 3%), as well as in a couple-only households (13% vs. 6%).

Differences between “nones” and others are not as pronounced in Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, and Europe.

In Europe and North America, household types among ‘nones’ are similar to others

Hindus

More than a billion people – almost one-sixth of the world’s population – are Hindu. Hindus are heavily concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region, and more than nine-in-ten of the world’s Hindus live in just one country: India. As a result, the global characteristics of Hindu households are heavily influenced by patterns in that country.

Even though most Hindus live in the Asia-Pacific region, they make up only about a quarter of all people in the world’s most populous region. Hindus represent less than 1% of the population in all other regions.41

Hindus: Household size

Hindus have larger households than others in Asia-Pacific region – but not in IndiaGlobally, the average Hindu lives in a fairly large household (5.7 people), with nearly one person more than the average non-Hindu (4.8). In India, however, the reverse is true: Hindus live in slightly smaller households than non-Hindus (5.7 vs. 6.2) – even though Hindus’ biggest households are in India.

Hindus in the Latin America-Caribbean region – mostly found in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname – live in slightly smaller households than other Latin Americans (4.4 vs. 4.6). Meanwhile, the small population of Hindus in sub-Saharan Africa – many of whom live in South Africa – have much smaller households than others in the region (3.9 vs. 6.9).

Hindus have larger households in India than in other countries

Hindus: Household types

Globally, Hindus are the only religious group with a majority of people living in extended-family homes, with 55% residing in this type of arrangement. Relatedly, Hindus are less likely than non-Hindus to live in a couple-only arrangement (3% vs. 9%). Hindus, along with Muslims, have the smallest share of adherents who live alone (1% in each group).

Hindus are the only group with a majority living in extended familiesIn the Asia-Pacific region, Hindus are far more likely than non-Hindus to live in extended families (55% vs. 42%). But this pattern is less pronounced in India, where religious minorities live in arrangements similar to Hindus. Indian Hindus are only a little more likely to live with extended family (55%, compared with 51% for non-Hindus).

Outside Asia, Hindus stand out for high shares in adult child families

Buddhists

With about 500 million adherents worldwide, Buddhists represent roughly 7% of the global population. Nearly 99% of Buddhists live in Asia and the Pacific. Buddhists make up just over 10% of all people in the Asia-Pacific region, 1% of North Americans and less than one-half of 1% of people in any other region.42

Buddhists: Household size

Buddhists live with fewer people than othersAround the world, Buddhists live with at least one fewer person, on average, than non-Buddhists do. This reflects the gap in Asia, where the average Buddhist lives in a household of 3.9 people, compared with 5.1 for non-Buddhists.

About half of the world’s Buddhists live in China, where they make up almost one-fifth of the population. In China, Buddhists live in households of 3.8 people, on average, as do non-Buddhists. The second-biggest population of Buddhists by country is in Thailand, where they make up over 90% of the population. In Thailand, Buddhists have an average household size of 4.1, whereas others live in larger households, with an average size of 4.7. (Most non-Buddhists in China are unaffiliated, while most non-Buddhists in Thailand are Muslim.)

Buddhists have their smallest families in Japan (3.0), where their average household sizes are about the same as those of non-Buddhists. In Canada, though, Buddhists live in bigger households than others (3.9 vs. 3.2), which is partly because Canadian Buddhists are more likely than other Canadians to live with extended family.

Buddhists have their smallest households in Japan

Buddhists: Household types

When it comes to household type, the biggest difference between Buddhists and non-Buddhists is in the relatively small percentage of Buddhists who live in two-parent households with minor children. One-fifth of Buddhists globally live in this arrangement, compared with one-third of non-Buddhists. In fact, of all major religious groups, Buddhists have the smallest share of adherents in this household type.

As a group, Buddhists are older than non-Buddhists, with a median age of 36, compared with 29 for non-Buddhists. And the average Buddhist woman is expected to have 1.6 children in her lifetime, well below the global figure for non-Buddhists (2.4). These demographic factors, which are themselves influenced by the legacy of the one-child policy in China, help to explain why Buddhists tend to have smaller households and are less likely to live in household types that by definition include minor children.

Buddhists also are unlikely to live in single-parent families (2%), which reflects the rarity of this type of household for all religious groups in the Asia-Pacific countries where most Buddhists are found, and the fact that there are relatively few Buddhists in countries or regions where single parenthood is common. At the country level, about the same share of Buddhists and non-Buddhists live in single-parent households in China, Thailand, Japan and Canada. Within the Asia-Pacific region, Nepal has the biggest share of Buddhists living in single-parent families (9%).

Fewer than a quarter of Buddhists live in two-parent householdsGlobally, Buddhists are slightly more likely than others to live in extended-family households (44% vs. 38%), in couple-only households (13% vs. 8%), in adult child homes (13% vs. 9%) and alone (7% vs. 4%). Within the Asia-Pacific region, however, Buddhists and non-Buddhists live with extended family at about the same rate.

Buddhists are more likely than others to live alone or in couples

Jews

Globally and in every region, Jews are a minority religious group; they make up less than one-quarter of 1% of the global population. About 40% of Jews live in Israel, where they represent a large majority of the population, and a similar number live in the United States, where they form roughly 2% of the population.

Jews: Household size

Israeli Jews have much smaller households than others in the Middle EastJews in the Middle East-North Africa region live in bigger households than those in North America.43In Israel, Jews live in households of 4.3 people, on average (compared with 5.2 for non-Jewish Israelis); in the U.S., those figures are 3.0 and 3.4, respectively.44

Of all religious groups analyzed for this report, Jews are the oldest, with a median age of 37, compared with 30 among non-Jews. The comparatively high percentage of Jews who live alone or with only a spouse or partner can be partially attributed to their older age.

Jews: Household types

Globally, Jews have the biggest share of adherents in couple-only households and are more than twice as likely as non-Jews to live in this arrangement (21% vs. 8%). Jews are more likely to live as couples in the U.S. than in Israel (30% vs. 13%), and in both places, they are more likely than non-Jews to live with only a spouse or partner. Jews also are unique in that the couple-only household type is their second-most common (behind the two-parent family with minor children); in all other groups, two-parent and extended-family are the most common household types.

Jews stand out for living in extended families much less often than othersJews have a much smaller share than others living in extended families (17% vs. 38%). Again, there are big differences in the experiences of U.S. Jews and Israeli Jews: While 29% of Israeli Jews live with extended family, only 6% of U.S. Jews do. Conversely, U.S. Jews live alone at about twice the rate of Israeli Jews (13% vs. 6%).

Israeli Jews much more likely than U.S. Jews to live with extended family

Studies often show links between religion and family life

Researchers who explore the connections between religion and household patterns often focus on major life events: marriage, divorce and childbearing. Their findings suggest that several measures of religion – a person’s affiliation, how important religion is to them and how often they participate in their congregation – have some influence on living arrangements. While many of the studies have been conducted in the U.S., using largely Christian samples, there is a growing body of research focused on other parts of the world.45 Some of these findings are presented here.

Marriage and divorce

Marriage, divorce and childbearing patterns are tied to religious identity and participation. In the U.S., evangelical Protestants are more likely than members of some other religious groups, including Catholics and mainline Protestants, to marry as young adults. Young evangelical Protestants also are less likely than others to live with a romantic partner outside of marriage.46 In the UK, the religiously affiliated, especially those who regularly attend religious services, also are less likely than “nones” to cohabit.47

Muslims are especially likely to marry: Studies have found that Muslims in many countries around the world are more likely than Christians to be married, and that in nations with larger shares of Muslims, women tie the knot at a younger age.48 Premarital sex is rarer among Muslims, and both Muslims and Buddhists are relatively unlikely to engage in extramarital sex. 49

The connection between divorce and religion also has interested researchers. Married “nones” are more likely than their religiously affiliated peers to go through a divorce at some point in their lives, according to a meta-analysis of 10 peer-reviewed research projects.50 Nevertheless, U.S. states with bigger shares of religious conservatives experience relatively high divorce rates, even though evangelical Protestants tend to emphasize the sanctity of marriage. This seeming contradiction may be explained by the tendency among conservative Protestants to marry at a younger age.51

Childbearing

In the baby boom years after World War II, U.S. Catholics tended to have more children than non-Catholics. But by 1979, Princeton demographers noted that this gap had nearly disappeared and declared “The end of Catholic fertility.”52

Around the globe, Muslims have higher fertility rates than Christians on average.53 Muslim women’s low educational attainment is a likely factor; demographers find that higher educational attainment among women is tied to lower fertility rates. 54 Even though fertility rates generally are declining in Muslim-majority nations, the above-average number of children born to Muslim women contributes to Muslims’ larger household sizes, as described elsewhere in this report. 55

Buddhism appears to have a unique association with procreation compared with the other major world religions: An analysis of fertility data in six Asian nations found that Buddhist affiliation was either unrelated to the number of children born or associated with having fewer children. This may be because Buddhism, unlike Abrahamic religions, does not have a specifically pro-natalist doctrine.56 (For more on religious teachings about family life, see this sidebar.)

In Western Europe, women who belong to religious groups and attend services more often tend to have more children.57

3. Household patterns by age and gender

People move between different types of households throughout their lives. Someone born into a two-parent home might become a member of an extended-family household when a grandmother moves in, live as a couple with their spouse in middle adulthood and end up in a solo household after that partner dies.

Differences in living arrangements are particularly striking for children under 18 and adults who are 60 and older. While someone in their 30s can easily be found in any household type, it is unusual for anyone under 18 to live solo, or for someone in their 60s to raise a child alone.

Moreover, examining age groups separately is important because a society’s age composition affects living arrangements for the overall population. Countries with longer life expectancy, for example, are more likely to have people living as couples without children, in part because parents may live for decades after their children move out. Places with higher fertility are more likely to have two-parent and extended-family homes simply because there are more children overall per household.

Sex is another variable associated with living arrangements, both within religious groups and across them. Women are more likely than men to be single parents, for example, and also more likely to live alone in later years.

Earlier in this report, all age and gender groups were included when analyzing shares of people in different types of households. This chapter examines the differences, by religion and region, between people within the same phase of life, and of the same gender.58

Living arrangements of children

Children under 18 make up about a third of the world’s population – and in the fast-growing regions of sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East-North Africa, they account for 48% and 37%, respectively.

Most children in Christian, Muslim and unaffiliated homes live with two parentsFor children around the world, sharing a home with two parents – whether biological, step, adoptive or foster, married or unmarried – is the most common arrangement (51%). But many children also live in extended-family homes (38%), whether with aunts and uncles, grandparents, or other family members aside from parents and siblings.

A little more than half of Christians, Muslims and “nones” under 18 live with two parents, while fewer than four-in-ten among these groups reside in extended-family homes. The pattern is reversed for Hindu and Buddhist children, who, like their adult counterparts, are more likely to live with extended family. Roughly half of Hindu children live with extended families (52%), while about four-in-ten live in two-parent homes (43%). As has been noted before, 94% of Hindus live in India, where extended-family households are common overall. Still, Hindu children in India are even more likely than their Christian, Muslim or unaffiliated peers to live with extended family.

Single-parent homes are not common in general, with fewer than one-in-ten children around the world living with one parent and no other adults.59 But children from Christian families are about twice as likely as non-Christian children to reside in single-parent households. And the U.S. has the highest rates of children living in single-parent households, with almost a quarter of Christian (as well as unaffiliated) children living this way.60

U.S. children are more likely than children elsewhere to live in single-parent homesRelatively few North American children live in extended families Globally, the share of Muslim children living in single-parent homes is smaller than the percentage residing in polygamous families (5% vs. 7%). Among other religious groups, very small shares of children – 1% or less – live in polygamous households.61 Growing up in polygamous households is relatively common in sub-Saharan Africa, where 12% of children live in such arrangements – including an even higher share of children in Muslim families (27%).

Living alone or as a couple is very rare for children, though not unheard of. In South Korea, about 5% of Christian and unaffiliated children under 18 live in solo households.

Living arrangements of people 60 and older

People in later adulthood have many things in common, no matter what religious group they belong to or where in the world they live. Most of them have finished bearing and raising children, and many have experienced the loss of a spouse, a need for caretaking, the birth of a new generation of family members or some other shift that causes a change in their living arrangements.

Among seniors, Hindus are the least likely to live aloneYet adults over age 60 of different religions and in different parts of the world vary widely in their living arrangements. In addition to some of the other factors discussed in this report that are related to household patterns (such as religion, geography and economics) living arrangements for older people are particularly tied to another measure of prosperity – life expectancy. (See the below chart.)

Around the world, living with extended family is the most common arrangement for people ages 60 and older, even though fewer than half of all older adults globally (38%) live in this household type. Living as a couple is the second most common experience (31%), followed by living alone (16%).

Hindu and Muslim seniors are particularly likely to live with extended family. Almost three-quarters of Hindus (72%) live in this type of arrangement, including in multigenerational households. Hindus are concentrated in India and other Asia-Pacific countries where extended-family households are relatively common.

By contrast, fewer than a quarter of Christians ages 60 and older globally (23%) live with extended family, while an identical share of Christian seniors around the world live alone – the highest of any religious group analyzed. Among older Christian and unaffiliated adults, living as a couple is the most common arrangement (38% each).

Muslims have a higher-than-average share of adults over 60 who are still raising minor children without extended family, with 7% of older Muslims living in two-parent or single-parent households combined – equal to the share who live alone.

Europe and North America have the largest shares of older adults who live alone, with a quarter or more found in solo households; these regions also have the highest percentages of older adults living as couples, with just under half in both regions found in that type of arrangement, while relatively few older Europeans and North Americans live with extended family.

Half of older adults in sub-Saharan Africa, but few in North America, live with extended familySome of these differences are tied to levels of economic development, particularly as measured by life expectancy. Older adults are more likely to live alone or as couples in countries where an average person can expect to live more than 70 years. In countries where lives are shorter, seniors tend to live with other family members instead. Life expectancy is often linked to other markers of prosperity within a country, so older adults who can expect to live into their 80s also tend to live in countries where living alone is more affordable and sources other than family may provide help in meeting basic needs.

Cultural norms also may play a role; in Western countries it is often expected that seniors will live alone.62 In India and other parts of the world it may be seen as a normal arrangement (or even a responsibility) for adult children to take their aging parents into their home. One example of this can be seen among immigrant communities in the West: In Canada, almost half of Hindus ages 60 and older (who are often immigrants or the children of immigrants from South Asia) live with extended families (47%), more than four times the share of Canadian seniors overall (10%).

Older adults live alone more often in places with longer life expectancy

Experiences of men and women

Men and women around the world experience households differently, and these gender gaps sometimes vary by religious affiliation. Gender and religion play a role when it comes to three measures in particular: The age gap between cohabiting partners, the prevalence of single-parent households, and the rate of living alone in old age.

Spousal age gap

Men tend to be older than their wives or female cohabiting partners by a global average of about four years.63 Around the world, Jewish couples tend to have the smallest age gaps (2.1 years, on average) while Muslims have the biggest (6.6 years). Across all groups, the gaps are smallest in Europe and North America (less than three years), and biggest in sub-Saharan Africa (8.6 years). Of the 130 countries analyzed, there is no place where male partners are younger than their female partners, on average, or even the same age.

The countries with the world’s widest age gaps are all in sub-Saharan Africa and have high rates of polygamy; they include Gambia and Guinea, both with average gaps of around 14 years. The countries with the narrowest age gaps are largely in Europe (including the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Estonia), in addition to the U.S., China and Mongolia, all with gaps of around two years.

Age gaps between partners are widest in Africa, particularly among Muslims

Single parents

All over the world, women in middle adulthood (ages 35 to 59) are more likely than their male counterparts to live in single-parent homes.

The gender gap in single-parenthood in this age group is widest among Christians. Worldwide, about 2% of middle-aged Christian men live in single-parent homes, while about 7% of women do. On the other end of the spectrum, Buddhist men and women in this age group do not differ much on this measure.

These patterns partly reflect the large share of Christians in sub-Saharan Africa, where single-parent households are relatively common, and the big shares of Buddhists in Asia, where such households are rare. Middle-aged men tend to live in single-parent homes at about the same rate all over the world and regardless of religion – any differences in rates of single parenthood affect women almost exclusively. Middle-aged women in sub-Saharan Africa have the largest share in single-parent households, with about 9% in this arrangement – although North American (8%) and Latin American (7%) women are not far behind.

Women live as single parents more often than men

Aging alone

Around the world, women ages 60 and older are only slightly more likely to live in a couple (27%) than to live alone (20%). Older men, however, are three times as likely to live in a couple (36%) than they are to reside alone (11%).

This pattern, which applies across religious groups and country borders, is tied to life expectancy: Because women tend to live at least a few years longer than men, larger shares of older women – in every religious group and in every region – live alone. The tendency of women to live alone in advanced age is a result of both women’s greater longevity and their tendency to form relationships with men who are older.64

Christians have the widest gap in rates of living alone, with older women found in solo households twice as often as older men (30% vs. 14%). Among Hindus ages 60 and older, on the other hand, few live alone regardless of gender (6% of women and 2% of men). Thus, while greater female life expectancy is universal, the living arrangements of widows are not.

In sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle-East North Africa region, women and men also differ in their frequency of living in two-parent households with minor children. Owing to the relatively large age gaps between partners in these regions, it is not uncommon for men in their 60s or beyond to live with a partner and children under 18. In the Middle East and North Africa, 14% of men ages 60 and older and 1% of women in this category live in two-parent households, and in sub-Saharan Africa, 19% of older men and 2% of older women live in such an arrangement.

Older women live alone more often than older men

Acknowledgments

This report was produced by Pew Research Center as part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project, which analyzes religious change and its impact on societies around the world. Funding for the Global Religious Futures project comes from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation.

This report is a collaborative effort based on the input and analysis of the following individuals. Find related reports online at pewresearch.org/religion.

Research Team

Stephanie Kramer, Research Associate
Conrad Hackett, Associate Director of Research and Senior Demographer
Alan Cooperman, Director of Religion Research
Anne Fengyan Shi, Senior Researcher
Jacob Ausubel, Research Assistant
Jose Fuentes, Intern
George Hayward, Intern
Sara Hodges, Intern
Kabir Sandrolini, Intern
Yunping Tong, Intern                        

Editorial and Graphic Design

Dalia Fahmy, Senior Writer/Editor
Michael Lipka, Editorial Manager
Aleksandra Sandstrom, Copy Editor
Bill Webster, Senior Information Graphics Designer

Communications and Web Publishing

Stacy Rosenberg, Associate Director, Digital
Travis Mitchell, Digital Producer
Anna Schiller, Communications Manager
Haley Nolan, Communications Associate

Others at Pew Research Center provided valuable feedback on this report, including associate directors of research Gregory A. Smith, Neha Sahgal and Juliana Menasce Horowitz, as well as Andrew Mercer, senior research methodologist. Gretchen Livingston, former senior researcher at Pew Research Center, also provided valuable guidance with this report.

Philip Schwadel, professor of sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, spent a year as a visiting researcher at Pew Research Center. The Center is grateful for his contributions to this report and other work.

Pew Research Center also received valuable advice on this report from: Philip N. Cohen, professor of sociology at the University of Maryland; Laurie F. DeRose, assistant professor of sociology at the Catholic University of America; David C. Dollahite, Camilla E. Kimball Professor of Family Life at Brigham Young University; Sriya Iyer, university reader in economics and fellow of St Catharine’s College at the University of Cambridge; Nicolette D. Manglos-Weber, assistant professor of religion and society at the Boston University School of Theology; Luca Maria Pesando, assistant professor of demography at the Centre on Population Dynamics at McGill University; Beth S. Wenger, associate dean of graduate studies and Moritz and Josephine Berg Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania; and W. Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia.

While the analysis for this report was guided by our consultations with the advisers, Pew Research Center is solely responsible for the interpretation and reporting of the data.