1996. ÉVI MIKROCENZUS Az egyszülős családok adatai (1997)

BEVEZETŐ

INTRODUCTION For several decades, between two consecutive decennial population censuses, microcensuses have been carried out by the Hungárián Central Statistical Office, in order to survey changes having occurred ensuing to the former census. In the period following the 1990 census, such a data collection took place in April 1996, on a sample covering 2 percent of the housing stock and of the population. Special importance was attached to the 1996 microcensus owing to the economic systemic change which began in the late eighties and having been accomplished in the nineties. Only a sample survey comprising all strata of the population and allowing for a conveniently high degree of reliability within relatively narrow confidence intervals can establish in a complex way the impacts of these changes on the population, the scope and trends of changes. The results of the microcensus are being published by the Hungárián Central Statistical Office in a publication series. The volume "Population and housing characteristics" containing the most important data came out in early 1997. Somé of the publications containing most detailed data of the survey appeared recently, while others are being prepared. The publications containing detailed data deal with specific topics which expectedly arouse keen interest on behalf of institutions', experts' and researchers' part in the given domain. The present volume is part of this publication series. It gives a detailed picture on a small but, in many respect, disadvantaged fraction of families, namely on those consisting of a lone parent (father or mother) and his (her) child(ren), i.e. the so-called single parent families. The brief summary strives to follow the changes having occurred in the one and a half decade after the 1980 population census, making use of the results of the last two full-scope censuses, and offering a brief overview on the most recent changes. It contains a short presentation of the composition of single parent families by the number of children, as well as the main demographic, educational and occupational characteristics of lone parents living with their child(ren), and the housing conditions of this type of family, in comparison to couples with child(ren). Besides a short presentation of retrospective (summary) data, the Tables chapter contains detailed cross-tabulations with data according to the country as a whole, to counties and population size groups of localities. The use of the volume is facilitated by a detailed explanation of concepts. 10