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Changing Patterns of One-Person and One-Couple-Only Households in India

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Abstract

Familial composition has always occupied the center stage in sociological research and is linked with different socio-economic and demographic transitions. This study examines the change in the pattern of one-person (OP) and one-couple-only (OC) households in India for the period 1993–2050. Household-level data was obtained from three rounds of the National Family Health Survey and closely matched with the estimates of the Census. We adopted the spline method for age smoothing, the ordinary least squares regression method for examining the factors affecting OP and OC households, and the logistic curve for making projections. The findings show that during 2015–16, 4% of the households in India were OP households, which figure is expected to become 5.5% (4.9%-5.6%) by 2030 and 6.7% (5%-7%) by 2050. The percentage of OC households was 8% in 2015–16, which will increase to 10.4% (9.2%-10.8%) by 2030 and 12.6% (9.8%-14.2%) by 2050. In 2015–16, the proportion of OP households ranged between 1.54 in Jammu & Kashmir and 8% in Arunachal Pradesh. while that of OC households ranged from 3.3% in Meghalaya to 14.4% in Andhra Pradesh. The demographically advanced state of Kerala is projected to have the highest proportion of OC households in the coming years. One-man households were concentrated in the younger ages, while one-woman households dominated in the older ages. The share of OP households was higher among older persons from rural areas than those from urban areas. The increasing share of OP and OC households among the elderly may accelerate the already-underway processes of feminisation and ruralisation of ageing. The ongoing increase in urbanisation and decline in the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) would lead to an increase in the share of both OP and OC households in India in the future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Statistics, Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh, Assam, India, 786004

    Naina Purkayastha, Balhasan Ali & Jiten Hazarika

  2. PKG Womens Hostel, Dibrugarh University Campus, Dibrugarh, Assam, India, 786004

    Naina Purkayastha

  3. Department of Survey Research and Data Analytics, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, 400088

    Preeti Dhillon

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  1. Naina Purkayastha
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Purkayastha, N., Dhillon, P., Ali, B. et al. Changing Patterns of One-Person and One-Couple-Only Households in India. Population Ageing 17, 51–69 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-022-09401-6

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