The Nordics are often described as having generous family and social policies. This is partly reflected in the high shares of children that are enrolled in day care. Young individuals also tend to move out from their parents’ homes earlier than in the EU, especially young women. When it comes to children living in households at risk of poverty, most Nordic countries display lower rates than the EU. Sweden is the exception, with rates close to the EU average.

In 2023, a new indicator set called Children and young people was added to the Nordic Statistics Database. It was linked to a cross-sectoral strategy by the Nordic Council of Ministers, which set the vision: the Nordic Region must be the best place in the world for children and young people. In the first article on this topic, basic demographics of Nordic children and young people were covered. You can find the previous article on children and young people here. This article continues by looking at family and living conditions.

Day care

Many Nordic families rely on day care to combine work and family life. This is partly reflected in the percentage of 3-5-year-olds that are enrolled in some form of day care. In 2024, 97 percent of 3–5-year-olds in Norway were in day care, compared to 96 percent in Sweden, 94 percent in Åland, and 90 percent in Greenland.

Source: Nordic Statistics Database, CHIL03

The proportion of children in day care has increased significantly in most Nordic countries over the past decades. The largest increase can be observed in Norway, where the proportion of 3-5-year-olds in day care has practically doubled since 1990.

Note: Denmark’s data has a break in the time series in 2017. Data from 2017 onwards include children in day-care in municipal and self-governing institutions converted to full time equivalents, whereas data from other countries reports the share of children enrolled, either part-time or full-time.

Children in households at risk of poverty

The at-risk-of-poverty rate reflects if a household has a low income relative to other households in that country. The threshold is set at 60% of the median equalized disposable income and if the household has an income lower than this, it is classified as at risk of poverty. In the figure below, the proportion of children 0-17 years old belonging to this household type is displayed.

Source: Nordic Statistics Database, RIOP02

All Nordic countries report lower rates than the EU average in 2024. Denmark, Finland and Norway were all in the range of 10 to 13 percent. Although Sweden stands out, with a relatively high rate of 18 percent. The corresponding rate in the EU was 19 percent. The rate in Sweden was even higher than the EU average in both 2019 and 2023.

Since 1990, Sweden has had a larger share of children in households at risk of poverty compared to their Nordic neighbours, but the difference has increased over time. The increase that began during the 2008 financial crisis has continued since then. The EU average has decreased slowly but steadily since 2010, with an increase during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.

Leaving home

Young people in the Nordics tend to leave home earlier than their peers in the EU. In 2024, 73 percent of 20-24-year-olds were still living with their parents in the EU. Among the four Nordic countries, Sweden displays the highest share at 38 percent. The lowest share is observed in Finland with 24 percent of 20-24-year-olds still living with their parents. There is also a clear gender gap, which is displayed in the figure below.

Source: Nordic Statistics Database, HOME01

Men aged 20–24 are more likely than women to live with their parents in all represented countries as well as in the EU. In 2024, Finland displays the largest gender gap at 20 percentage points. Sweden, on the other hand, displays the smallest gap at 7 percentage points.

In summary

Day care enrolment remains high in the Nordic region, with close to full coverage among 3–5-year-olds. The proportion of children living in households below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold is generally lower than in the EU, although Sweden stands out with higher levels than its Nordic neighbours and rates close to the EU average. Young people in the Nordics also leave home earlier than in the EU, though with notable variation between countries and between men and women.