Economic family

Status: This was the departmental standard from February 20, 2006 to November 15, 2015.

Definition

Economic family refers to a group of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling and are related to each other by blood, marriage, common-law or adoption. A couple may be of opposite or same sex. Foster children are included.

By definition, all persons who are members of a census family are also members of an economic family. Examples of the broader concept of economic family include the following: two co-resident census families who are related to one another are considered one economic family; co-resident siblings who are not members of a census family are considered as one economic family; and, nieces or nephews living with aunts or uncles are considered one economic family.

Conformity to relevant internationally recognized standards

This standard is compatible with the definition of "family within the household" presented in the United Nations' Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses, Revision 1, 1998. This document defines the family within the household as "those members of the household who are related, to a specified degree, through blood, adoption or marriage. The degree of relationship used in determining the limits of the family in this sense is dependent upon the uses to which the data are to be put and so cannot be established for worldwide use."

In its discussion of statistical units, the Final Report and Recommendations of the Canberra Group, Expert Group on Household Income Statistics comments on international usage of two concepts of family which it refers to as the nuclear family and a broadly defined family often referred to as the economic family. The report observes that this broadly defined family "usually includes all persons sharing a dwelling who are related by blood, marriage or adoption." This standard fits within this definition.

Additional information

When information displays, such as tables, combine information on economic families and persons who are not living in economic families, the population is called: Economic families and persons not in economic families.

Relation to previous version

• Economic family May 26, 2021 to current

  The definition of the statistical unit has been modified.

• Economic family November 16, 2015 to May 25, 2021

  In the previous standard, the inclusion of foster children was listed separately from the list of ways in which persons in an economic family can be related. This standard adds persons who are related to each other by a foster relationship to the list of possible relationships for this statistical unit.

• Economic family February 20, 2006 to November 15, 2015

  The previous standard made no reference to same-sex couples. The addition of the words "a couple may be of opposite or same sex" reflects the established practice of including same-sex common-law couples and recognizes that same-sex couples can also be married.
  
  In the previous standard, foster children were not included.

• Economic family July 15, 1998 to February 19, 2006

  This was the departmental standard from July 15, 1998 to February 19, 2006.