Ireland has more people per household than other European countries, study shows

Ireland's relatively high household size will likely persist as long as favourable demographic features are present, such as a high birth rate and young population, compared to other countries. 

A high fertility rate, young population, and a big share of homes with children has lead to Ireland having a larger number of people per household than other European countries, according to a new report.

The Household size in Ireland: Stylised facts and cross country trends research by Conor O’Toole and Rachel Slaymaker was published on Wednesday morning by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).

The researchers compared the trends in household size in Ireland to other European countries for the period from 2005 to 2021.

The average household in Ireland dropped in size to 2.6 people in 2021, from over 2.8 in 2005, according to the report.

Among the findings were:

• Ireland has a high average household size on a cross-country basis and this pattern has remained over the past 20 years;
• This is strongly influenced by a high fertility rate, younger population, and thus a high share of households with children;
• Ireland's relatively high household size will likely persist as long as favourable demographic features are present, such as a high birth rate and young population, compared to other countries. 
• Household size is likely to decline over time in line with population ageing;
• Ireland, along with Norway sees the highest share of household heads aged under 40, while Italy, Greece and Portugal see the highest numbers of households headed by over 65s;
• Among households under 40, just 11% are composed of single adults with no children in Ireland compared to 40% in other western European countries;
• The share of household heads who have never been married ranges from little over 20% in Greece to more than 40% in Sweden and Norway. 
• A higher share of individuals are married in the southern European countries, namely Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Italy, along with Ireland.
• Divorce rates are also notably lower in Greece, Spain, Italy, and Ireland (below 10%) and higher in the Nordic countries (around 20%), as well as in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Britain.

Conor O’Toole of the ESRI said: “Ireland has a greater number of persons per household relative to other European countries mainly due to a younger population. 

"As the population ages, household size is likely to decline once sufficient, and suitable, housing is available.” 

In relation to older households, Ms Slaymaker noted that the number of households in Ireland headed by people over the age of 65 is similar in size to other European countries. 

“In contrast, middle-aged and particularly younger households are typically larger in Ireland," she said.