To main content

Households' housing 2015:

Households in multi-dwelling buildings often smaller

Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2016-04-19 9.30

Households in Sweden comprise an average of 2.2 persons per household. However, forms of housing vary considerably from region to region. Households living in one- or two-dwelling buildings are on average larger than households living in multi-dwelling buildings.

Households living in one- or two-dwelling buildings are often larger than households living in multi-dwelling buildings, because dwellings in one- or two-dwelling buildings are on average larger than dwellings in multi-dwelling buildings. Households living in one- or two-dwelling buildings with ownership rights are the largest. In 2015, a household that owns its one- or two-dwelling building consists of 2.7 persons on average. Those who live in one- or two-dwelling buildings that are rented or owner-occupied (bostadsrätt) are somewhat smaller at 2.4 and 2.3 persons respectively.

Households living in multi-dwelling buildings that are rented dwellings are somewhat larger than households living in owner-occupied apartments, 2.0 and 1.8 persons per household respectively. Households living in special needs housing are the smallest, 1.2 persons on average. Special housing can be student housing or elderly housing.

Size of household varies among municipalities. The municipalities with the largest households in 2015 were Botkyrka, Salem, Knivsta and Ekerö (2.7 persons). Munkfors and Ljusnarsberg have the smallest households (1.9 persons per household).

Differences among municipalities can be explained by the size of the dwellings and number of inhabitants, as well as the housing stock situation, size of dwellings and availability of dwellings. The age structure of the population in the municipality also affects the size of the households.

The largest households in owner occupied one- or two-dwelling houses are in Sundbyberg at 3.5 persons as well as Danderyd and Solna at 3.3 persons. The average smallest household in an owner occupied one- or two-dwelling building is in Ljusnarsberg at 2.1 persons.

The average largest households in rented dwellings in multi-dwelling buildings are found in Botkryka and Haninge at 2.7 and 2.6 persons respectively. The 10 municipalities with the average largest households are all found in Stockholm County. The average smallest households in rented dwellings in multi-dwelling buildings are found in Arvidsjaur, Malå and Lekeberg with 1.4 persons per household.

Botkyrka and Haninge are among the municipalities with the smallest useful floor space per person in rented dwellings in multi-dwelling buildings at 27 and 28 square metres respectively. Arvidsjaur, Malå and Lekeberg are among the municipalities with the largest useful floor space per person. Karlsborg municipality had the largest useful floor space of all at 47 square metres per person.

Definitions and explanations

The statistics are based on the Total Population Register and information on dwellings in the Dwellings Register.

A household consists of the persons who are registered at the same dwelling.

One- or two-dwelling building refers to detached one-or two-dwelling buildings as well as semi-detached houses, terraced houses and link attached houses.

Multi-dwelling building refers to residential buildings with three or more apartments including housing with balcony access.

One- or two-dwelling buildings with ownership rights refer to dwellings owned by natural persons or estates of deceased persons.

Multi-dwelling buildings with owner-occupied apartments refer to dwellings that are owned by tenant-owner associations. Owner-occupied apartments also include persons who rent their apartment from the tenant-owners' association or rent from the owner of the apartment.

Multi-dwelling buildings and other buildings that are rented dwellings refer to dwellings that are not condominiums and are owned by other owners than tenant-owner associations.

Next publishing will be

The next press release in this series is scheduled for publishing in the spring 2017.

Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.

Statistical agency and producer

Statistics Sweden, Population and Economic Welfare Statistics Unit

Address
701 89 Örebro

Enquiries

Lovisa Sköld

Telephone
+46 10 479 64 74
E-mail
lovisa.skold@scb.se

Karin Rosén Karlsson

Telephone
+46 10 479 69 98
E-mail
karin.rosen@scb.se