Of children living at home who are below the age of 18, three out of four, or 75 percent, live with both their original birth or adoptive parents. The proportion was somewhat lower, 73–74 percent, in the early 2000s and has remained at 75 percent since 2010. There are several reasons why a child does not live with both its parents; it may be that the parents never lived together, that the child previously lived with both parents who have now separated or that one of the parents is deceased.

Living with both parents is most common among the youngest children. Nearly nine out of ten of children below the age of two live with both parents, compared with six out of ten 17-year-olds. It is more common for older children to have parents who have separated. It is also more common to have experienced the death of a parent. Nearly 2 percent of children aged 13–17 have at least one deceased parent.

The proportion of children living with both parents is somewhat lower for children with a foreign background than for children with a Swedish background, at 73 and 75 percent, respectively. There are also differences depending on the parents’ educational level. Of children with parents whose highest education is an upper secondary education or lower, 66 percent live with both their parents, compared with 81 percent of children where at least one of the parents have a post-secondary education.

New statistics about children and families with children

The 2017 statistics on children and their families are now available in the Statistical Database. The statistics contain information on families with children, children’s type of family nucleus and siblings, adopted children, separations, children with a Swedish or foreign background and housing.