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One-person households in India

Author

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  • Premchand Dommaraju

    (Nanyang Technological University)

Abstract

Objective: The objectives of this article are: 1) to estimate the prevalence of one-person households in India; 2) to examine the demographic, social and economic characteristics of these households, and 3) to analyse the determinants of one-person households. Methods: Data from the Indian censuses are used to gauge the prevalence of one-person households. In addition, data from the third round of District Level Household and Facility Survey (DLHS-3), a large and nationally representative data, are used to examine the characteristics of one-person households and to estimate the odds of staying in such households. Results: The prevalence of one-person households in India is low compared to that in other parts of Asia. While the prevalence of OPH is low, the number of such households is large, and expected to grow in the next few decades. The results presented reveal important social, economic and demographic differences between one-person and multi-person households. Elderly females and young migrants who live alone are potential vulnerable groups. The results are situated within the socio-cultural and demographic contexts of India.

Suggested Citation

  • Premchand Dommaraju, 2015. "One-person households in India," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 32(45), pages 1239-1266.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:32:y:2015:i:45
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.45
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Swastika Chakravorty & Srinivas Goli & K. S. James, 2021. "Family Demography in India: Emerging Patterns and Its Challenges," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, April.
    3. Adam Ka-Lok Cheung & Wei-Jun Jean Yeung, 2021. "Socioeconomic development and young adults’ propensity of living in one-person households: Compositional and contextual effects," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(11), pages 277-306.
    4. Tripathi, Sabyasachi, 2020. "Does economic development reduce household size? Evidence from India," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 42(5), pages 982-999.
    5. Tripathi, Sabyasachi, 2018. "Does Higher Economic Development Reduce Household Size? Evidence from India," MPRA Paper 86684, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Chakravorty, Swastika & Goli, Srinivas, 2021. "Family Structure, Economic Outcomes and Perceived Change in Economic Well-being in India," OSF Preprints 23kvs, Center for Open Science.
    7. Jeofrey Bautista Abalos & Wei-Jun Jean Yeung, 2023. "Demographic, socioeconomic, and cultural factors for the rise in one-person households in developing countries: the case of the Philippines," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 1-32, December.
    8. Nandita Saikia & Moradhvaj Moradhvaj, 2020. "Socioeconomic patterns and determinants of adult mortality due to external-causes in India: Analysis of nationally-representative, population-based survey data," VID Working Papers 2004, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.
    9. Wei-Jun Jean Yeung & Adam Ka-Lok Cheung, 2015. "Living Alone," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 32(40), pages 1099-1112.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    households; one-person households; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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