Family & Society

How common are nuclear versus extended-family households among married Pakistanis?

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Answer

Direct answer

The cited evidence does not establish a current national nuclear-versus-extended split for married people or newlyweds. Classification depends on which relatives share a household and how household membership is defined.

The co-residence paper’s 41.21% figure comes from a selected 1973 Pakistani census sample and concerns the husband’s mother only. It is not a present-day joint-family percentage. Household size alone also cannot identify family structure.

Evidence

Sources used

Official Statistics · 2025

National Census Report 2023

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics

Official census report defining marital-status categories and reporting national and provincial distributions.View source
Academic Research · 2017

Living with own or husband's mother in the household is associated with lower number of children: a cross-cultural analysis

Royal Society Open Science

Published 2017, using historical IPUMS census samples. Pakistan: 1973 census, 68,086 married women aged 15–34 living with a spouse; 41.21% lived with his mother. Not DHS or current newlywed data.

Source checked:

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National Survey · 2026

HIES 2024–25: Social Indicators Report

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics

Latest report linked by PBS at review: literacy, out-of-school children, household size and internet use. Survey period 2024–25; PDF page and table definitions matter.

Source checked:

View source
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