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Trends in and patterns of solo living in Iran: an exploratory analysis

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Abstract

This paper uses the published results of successive Iranian censuses (1966–2011) and the 2 % micro-data from the 2011 census to examine the trends and patterns of solo living in Iran. The results show a recent rise in solo living in both rural and urban areas. Furthermore, a convergence in the prevalence of solo living is observed in both areas since the mid-1980s, which has removed their initial differences by the end of the period of study. Solo living is most prevalent among the elderly and to a lesser extent among young men. The fact that the age composition of sole persons has been relatively stable over time but their gender composition has been transformed to a female-dominant pattern provides evidence for both continuity and change in solo living in Iran. The results of multivariate analyses suggest that there are gender norms about living arrangements in Iran, which vary by age.

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Notes

  1. Household.

  2. In the 1996 census there is no distinction between ordinary and group households, so the results for this year relate to both types of household.

  3. The reason for not including the information for previous years is the lack of information for the whole or part of the age range.

  4. Here and in the rest of the paper, household members aged 15 years or higher are included in the analysis because the share of those aged less than 15 years considerably varies between sole and non-sole households (0.1 vs. 22.7 %, respectively). The minimal proportion of sole persons aged <15 years could indicate reporting errors either in the age or in the living arrangement status; thus, it cannot be regarded as a living arrangement option for very young people in Iran.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Professor Wei-Jun Jean Yeung and Dr. Adam Ka-Lok Cheung for their valuable comments on an earlier version of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Demography, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Fatemeh Torabi & Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi

  2. Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi

  3. Faculty of Social Sciences, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

    Abbas Askari-Nodoushan

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  1. Fatemeh Torabi
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  2. Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi
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  3. Abbas Askari-Nodoushan
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Correspondence to Fatemeh Torabi.

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Torabi, F., Abbasi-Shavazi, M.J. & Askari-Nodoushan, A. Trends in and patterns of solo living in Iran: an exploratory analysis. J Pop Research 32, 243–261 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12546-015-9152-x

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