Insee Première · January 2024 · n° 1980

Regional differences persist in sharing a dwelling beyond the family nucleus

In 2020 in France excluding Mayotte, complex households represented 3,7% of households. Complex households with a family nucleus gathered half of these households. They consist in a couple with or without children or of a single-parent family sharing a dwelling with at least one other person. Complex households without a family nucleus gathered the other half of complex households. They consist in people without a couple or parent‑child relationship living together.

Complex households with a family nucleus were much more common in the oversea departments. In mainland France, they were more common in Corse, and, to a lesser extent, in the South, the Paris region and northern Alsace. These regional discrepancies were larger thirty years ago.

Complex households without a family nucleus were over‑represented in urban areas. The largest share of them did not consist in students living together. However, their share increased between 1990 and 2020.

In 2020, complex households as a whole were more common in urban areas. In 1990, they were more so outside these urban areas.