Lone‐parent Families in Europe: A Variety of Economic and Social Circumstances

Abstract

The third wave of the European Community Household Panel Survey (ECHP) shows that 12 per cent of European families were lone‐parent families in 1996. Nine single parents out of ten are women, usually divorced or separated. The proportion of lone parents under 30 varies from 3 per cent in Italy to 20 per cent in the United Kingdom. Most lone parents are in work, and very often occupy a full‐time job, but the employment rate ranges from only 40 per cent in Ireland and the United Kingdom to 75 per cent in France and Denmark. Lone‐parent families benefit from social transfers more often than other families, and for higher amounts, but poverty is more common than in other households, except in Denmark, Greece and Portugal. The housing circumstances of lone‐parent families vary widely from country to country. In the south of Europe, 25 to 40 per cent are lodging in a larger household, suggesting solidarity within the extended families. This paper classifies the nations of Europe into five groups in terms of the overall circumstances of lone‐parent families. Anglo‐Saxon countries have the highest proportion of lone parents, with the least labour market participation and lower incomes. In contrast, lone parents in Scandinavian countries are more often at work and no more affected by poverty than other types of households.

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