1996. ÉVI MIKROCENZUS Az egyszülős családok adatai (1997)

AZ EGYSZÜLŐS CSALÁDOK TÁRSADALMI-DEMOGRÁFIAI JELLEMZŐI ÉS LAKÁSVISZONYAI

SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS AND HOUSING CONDITIONS OF SINGLE PARENT FAMILIES In Hungary the share of single parent families within totál families started to grow rapidly in the seventies because of the fast increase in the number of divorces. A considerable rise in the mortality of middle-aged males and a decrease in the number and share of re-marriages contributed to this to a great extent. As a result of this process, the proportion of single parent families grew from 10 percent in 1970 to 15.5 in 1990, which increase occured mostly in the eighties. After this, their share remained unchanged because of the increase in the number of divorces turnéd to a slight fali at the end of the eighties. Altough the number of divorces has started to grow again since 1992, it has had no effect yét on the proportion of single parent families. In spring 1996, the number of such families was 447 thousand; in 15 percent of them it was the father who was living with the child(ren), while in the others it was the mother. The share of father-with-child(ren)-type families within single parent families grew continously until the end of the eighties. Their proportion increased from 13 percent in 1970 to 20 percent in 1990 but, following this, their share diminished again to 15 percent, under the 1980 level. Formerly the occurrence of single father families was almost exclusively due to the death of the mother, while more recently a significant part of divorce procedures have ended by granting the child(ren)'s custody to the father. This has somewhat increased the share of single father families. In Budapest the share of single parent families is more than 21 percent i.e. almost by 6 percentage points higher than the country average, while in úrban areas it is about the same as the average. The lowest proportion can be shown in rural areas, which is presumably connected with the the still existing - although ever narrowing - traditional ways of life in these areas. Single parent families bring up far less children than married or cohabiting couples . At present, in two thirds of the first category there is a single child, while the share of couples with one child doesn't reach 50 percent. 12 percent of couples have three or more children, while the corresponding rate among single parent families is 7 percent only. The smaller single parent families live in the capital, while the largest can be found in rural areas. In Budapest 67.5 percent of single parent families bring up one child, which is one and a half percent more than the country average, while their share is slightly lower in úrban areas and it is the same in rural areas. In the capital the rates for any other number of children are below the country average. The same can be said about single parent families with three or more children in county towns and with two children in rural areas. The greatest number and share of large single parent families, live in rural areas: the share of single parent families with three children comes near to 6 percent, while the proportion of those with four or more nears 2 percent. In the case of couple-type families, there is a more balanced situation, i.e. the difference between the respective shares of couples with one and two children is smaller than between the corresponding shares of single parent families. At the same time, the share of couples bringing up three or more children is higher than that in the case of single parents. It is only in the capital that the proportion of couples with one child exceeds slightly 50 percent, while in all other types of locality this rate remains between 43 and 47 percent. The rate of couples with two children is 40 percent in Budapest and 43 percent in the other types of locality. Larger families (with more children) are rather 16