Children, 1 January 2008

National level and county level. Municipal level and urban districts can be made to order.

Annual

Not relevant

Data files at the individual level that are processed and stored long-term.

Special tabulations

In addition to the tables that are published, it is possible to order more detailed tables by contacting Statistics Norway on telephone +47 62 88 54 00, Division for Population Statistics or oppdragbefolkning@ssb.no. The price will depend on the size of the order.

Children statistics describe children's living arrangements, who they live with; in other words family relationships are seen from the child's point of view. Children statistics can provide a more nuanced picture of the current family pattern than family statistics can.

Children statistics were published for the first time in 1989. Prior to 1989 children were generally given statistical attention through adults, and primarily so through the mother. Through children statistics children became a separate analytical unit.

The children statistics are based on the same computer files used in family and household statistics.

As from 2005 the family and household statistics are based on more comprehensive data and new methods of data processing. See chapter 3. Because the new family statistics also includes cohabitants without common children the children statistics before and after the change of methods are not directly comparable. The new children statistics will show more children that live with two adults in the family, and not only a single mother or a single father. From this follows that the new children statistics also will show more children living with stepsiblings and fewer children without siblings.

The main users are the ministries and research institutions within the areas of demography and living conditions, and the media.

Children statistics are thematically related to family statistics. Whereas the child is the unit in children statistics, families are the units in family statistics

The Population and Housing Census 2001 also publish figures with the child as the statistical unit. These figures are directly comparable with the new child statistics since they also comprise cohabitants without common children.

Statistics Act of 16 June 1989 no. 54, Sections 2-1, 2-2, 3-2 (Questionnaires/registers).

Not relevant

Children statistics cover persons 0-17 years of age registered as resident in Norway per 1 January, with a few exceptions: Children statistics include only children 0-17 years of age living at home. Persons aged 0-17 years who have married, who have their own children, or who are registered as having left the family home, are excluded.

The statistics only include parents and siblings registered at the same address as the child. An individual can only be registered at one single address in the CPR. This means that possible siblings or parents that the child is living with part of the time at other addresses are not included.

The basis for children statistics is population register data from the Central Population Register. The figures from 1995 and later are based on the Central Population Register at the Directorate of Taxes, while the figures for 1968-1994 are from its forerunner. As from the change in methods in 2005 the statistics are also based on information from The Cadastre and The Central Coordinating Register of Legal Entities (business register).

Updating of the Central Population Register is done partly at the local population registry offices, which are connected to the central database via computer terminals, and partly centrally by the Directorate of Taxes. The statistics on demographic changes are based on electronic copies to Statistics Norway of all notifications that update the register. The reports also update a special Statistics Norway population database which is used to compile statistics on the composition of the population.

Persons are grouped into families in the CPR through the allocation of family numbers. The family number is maintained by reports on marriages, divorces, deaths, migrations etc. Families in the CPR comprise married couples with or without children, lone parents with children and persons living alone. Only children who are registered on the same address as their parent(s) are counted as family members.

In order to produce figures for cohabiting couples and two or more-family households, and hereby all types of families and households, Statistics Norway processes information from the CPR. In addition some information from The Cadaster and the business register are used in this process. Data from the same registers are used to identify persons not living in private households (living in institutions, of no fixed abode)

Data on basic statistical units are taken from The Cadastre.

Not relevant

Reports (electronic copies) have been transferred daily from the CPR to Statistics Norway since January 1998, as opposed to previous monthly reports. Reports from The Central Coordinating Register of Legal Entities are also electronically transferred daily to the Business Register of Statistics Norway. Statistics Norway downloads updates from The Cadastre once a month.

In order to expand the statistics to comprise all cohabiting couples and also multi family-households, it was necessary to develop a comprehensive system for data processing, control and revision. This was essential done to be able to decide which persons that constituted couples, families and households in these particular cases. Especially errors and shortcomings in address information at the dwelling level made this necessary. The comprehensive system of data processing combines information on families and households from the questionnaire part of the Population and Housing Census 2001 with information from the registers mentioned in chapter 3.2 per 1 January.

The system for data processing, control, and revision mentioned above classifies two persons as a cohabiting couple if they are living in the same household, are the only adults living in the household, are of opposite sex, are not related, are 18 years or older and the age difference between them are less than 16 years.

The child is the unit of analysis. The statistics is based on a full count of all persons, families, and households in Norway. From this point of view the estimation should be fairly simple. But due to shortcomings in the address information at the dwelling level, particularly in Oslo, we have to use a statistical method to adjust the results for persons living in multi-dwelling buildings. Figures are adjusted only for living in multi-dwelling buildings. Figures for living, couples, families and households are adjusted in 6 different types of households, 7 age groups and sex (126 groups per region).

In the child statistics figures are mainly published on national level and for counties. Tabulations for municipalities can be provided on request. In smaller municipalities this may reveal low values for some types of families and could possibly lead to the identification of individuals. In such cases we will suppress the figures. This is done by using the standard symbol “:” (“Not for publication”) in the tabulations.

Due to quality problems (see 3.5 and 3.6) small figures in tables are not exact values, but rather inaccurate estimates.

From 1 January 1989 the age limit for being classified as a child was lowered from 20 to 18 years. To facilitate comparisons, statistics for 1 January 1989 have been provided with an age limit on 20 year also.

Cohabitant couples (with at least one common child) were incorporated for the first time per 1 January 1993. Figures for 1987, 1989 and 1991 were produced at the same time.

Parents in registered partnerships have been included since 1 January 1995, for the years 1995 and 1997 primarily in the category married parents and since 1999 in the category mother/stepfather or father/stepmother. As the numbers are small, this does not make much impact.

Effective from 1 January 2001 the definition of cohabiting couples with common children and living on the same address has been changed: Legally separated couples with common children and living on the same address have previously been registered as cohabiting couples with common children, due to the statistical definition of cohabitant couples (that is, common child(ren) and identical address). From 1 January 2001 these separated couples are excluded from this category and included in the group "Other type of family" instead.

Per 1 January 2005 relatively large changes in the annual family statistics were put into effect. The introduction of a unique address for all dwellings made it possible to produce statistics for cohabitant couples regardless of common children or not. Because of this the figures in the new child statistics are not directly comparable with previously published statistics on children. The new child statistics will show more children that live with two adults in the family, and not only a single mother or a single father. From this follows that the new child statistics also will show more children living with step siblings and fewer children without siblings.

As from January 2005 separated parents which still have the same legal address are considered a couple in the family statistics. Since separated couples in a legal sense is still married to each other, they are classified as a married couple in the family and child statistics. Divorced couples still living in the same household are usually classified as a cohabiting couple.