1996. ÉVI MIKROCENZUS Az élettársi kapcsolatban élők adatai (1998)

AZ ÉLETTÁRSI KAPCSOLATBAN ÉLŐK TÁRSADALMI-DEMOGRÁFIAI JELLEMZŐI ÉS LAKÁSVISZONYAI

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS AND HOUSING CONDITIONS OF CONSENSUAL UNION FAMILIES In Hungary consensual unions were first counted in the 1970 Census. The then 62 thousand unions of this type (only 2 percent of families) doubled during the next two decades, and their number reached nearly 180 thousand in 1996. At present more then 7 percent of couple type relations are based on consensual unión, their share among all families is more then 6 percent. In spite of this, their frequency in Hungary is lower than in Western and especially Northern Europe, while it exceeds the rates of countries with deep Catholic traditions. In the late eighties, the number of consensual unions increased by almost a third, and even more significantly in the period after. There is somé 7 percentage point increase per year in average, which means that the pace of growth has remained unchanged since the middle of the eighties. EUROSTAT regularly publishes data and analysis about the number, share and composition of consensual unions because of their írequent presence in Western and Northern Europe. At the beginning of 1994, the share of consensual unions among all families was 8 percent on the average of the 12 member states of the European Community as against their 7 percent proportion in Hungary two years later. The highest share among the 12 member states of that time, could be observed in Denmark (24 percent), about 10 percent in Francé and in Belgium, while it came near to this rate in Luxemburg (9 percent). The proportion in Germany was not much behind it either (8 percent).

1 According to the 1996 Hungárián microcensus data, 25 percent of cohabiting couple families were concentrated in the capital, while only 17 percent of all couple type families lived in Budapest. In relation to that the share of consensual unions is the highest in the capital both among all families (8 percent) and couple-type families (more than 10 percent). The respective rate is 8 percent in county towns, 7 in other úrban areas and 6 in rural areas. The expansion of couple-type relations without marriage in rural areas and smaller towns shows, besides the decrease of population in these areas, the subsidence of still existing prejudices. In countries with long tradition of consensual unions, the share of this form of cohabitation is particularly high in younger age categories, whilst in Hungary it is more írequent among the elderly, although it is alsó rapidly increasing among youth. 4 percent of the nearly 800 thousand young people aged 15-19 live in marriage or consensual unión. The relevant share is only 1-1.5 percent among men of that age, while it exceeds 6 percent among women. Males of that age living in couple-type relations prefer consensual unions (60 percent), while more than a half (51 percent) of females opt for living in legitimized marriage. In the last six years an important decreasing trend could be observed in the age composition of cohabiting partners. In 1996, a quarter of female cohabiting partners were aged under 25 (10 percent in 1990), and a further 14 percent belonged to the age category 25-29 (10 percent in 1990). The respective shares among males were 15 percent in both age-groups in 1996, while 9 and 10 percent respectively in 1990. In higher age categories a decrease took place in both sexes. No significant change can be shown in the age composition of legal spouses. The rates of young adults and older were about the same at the two dates observed. Only among older adults can be seen a change: the 1 The Household Panel Newsletter, EGKS-EG-EAG, Bnissels-Luxembourg, 3/1996. 17