Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.12, 2013

An Analysis of the Changes in China’s Urban and Rural Family Structures: Based on 2010 Census Data

(Abstract)

Wang Yuesheng

Since 2000, changes in China’s family structure have been reflected in the following main areas: there has been a clear fall in the proportion of nuclear families, a significant rise in the proportion of single-person households and a slight rise, rather than a fall, in the proportion of lineal families (comprised of parents, their married children and grandchildren). The changes in urban areas are different from those in rural areas; in the former, the nuclear family component is shrinking and there is a clear rise in single-person households, with a slight fall in lineal families, whereas in the latter, there has been a relatively large fall in the nuclear family component, an increase in single-person families and a rise in lineal families. There are also some differences between rural and urban areas in terms of changes in secondary family structure. The data show that population mobility, number of children, population aging, marriage and housing conditions have a significant impact on family structures and the way these change. In an era when smaller family structures predominate, government and social organizations should strengthen the construction of public services targeting families; improve the household registration system to reduce the regional separation between workers and their family members; and create conditions for improved intergenerational family relations.