Increase in the number of households
Increase in the number of households in China
Description:
But another factor has worked in the opposite direction: the number of China’s households grew almost three times as fast as its population during 1985–2000, because average household size decreased from 4.5 to 3.5 people5,6. This alone gave China an extra 80 million households in 2000. Because smaller households consume more resources per person5, China’s rapid increase in household number and reduction in household size have had significant environmental consequences. For instance, while China’s household size has been declining, its per capita house floor area has increased more than threefold from the late 1970s to the present.
Despite a fall in population growth rate, the number of Chinese is projected to reach almost 1.5 billion by 2030. The projected drop in household size to 2.2 people6 by the year 2030 alone would add over 250 million new households — more than the total in the entire Western Hemisphere in 2000 — even if China’s population size remained constant.
Enablers:
- Increase in divorce rates: Divorces have increased sharply owing to simplified divorce procedures and wider societal acceptance of divorce. In 2004, more than 1.6 million couples filed for divorce, up 21% from 2003. Divorces hurt the environment because they double the number of households and reduce the household size, increasing per capita resource consumption and waste.
- Decline in the instances where several generation live under one roof: There has been a decline in the number of households where several generations live under one roof. Many older people now live alone, rather than with their children and grandchildren.