Families are changing. Life expectancy has increased and birth rates have fallen. In many families there are more grandparents and fewer children than before. Increasingly, families are living in non-traditional ways: there is more cohabitation, people marry at older ages, marriages end in divorce more often and remarriages are on the rise.

All OECD governments aim to support families and to give parents more choice in their work and family decisions. Countries differ considerably, however, in the types and intensity of support provided to families. These differences are rooted in countries’ history, in national policy attitudes towards families, and the role of government within the respective society.

Documentation

• Issues paper for discussion (4-pager in .pdf)

• Background document (15-pager in .pdf)

Childcare enrolement facilitates maternal employment and reduces child poverty

Download the underlying data in Excel

Related OECD documentation