Economic family status of person

Status: This standard was approved as a departmental standard on July 31, 2026.

Definition

Economic family status refers to whether the person is a member of an economic family and, if so, their relationship to other members of that economic family.

Person refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programs.

Derivation

'Economic family status of person' is derived from the responses to questions about the relationships among the people who live in the household. All members of a given census family belong to the same economic family, as well as any other household members who are related to at least one member of the census family. In households with no census families present, all related persons in the household form an economic family.

Conformity to relevant internationally recognized standards

This standard is broadly compatible with the recommendations for censuses contained in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Conference of European Statisticians (UNECE-CES) "Recommendations for the 2030 Round of Population and Housing Censuses", 2025. The UNECE-CES recommendations include a classification (section 16.4.3.6) of "Extended family status of person" which includes the distinction between persons in an extended family and in a family nucleus, persons in an extended family and not in a family nucleus, and persons not in an extended family. However, the UNECE-CES recommendations (section 16.4.1) state that "foster children are excluded from the family nucleus and the extended family of the foster parent(s) and should be considered as living with non-relatives" while in this standard, foster children are to be considered as "other relatives" in the same economic family as their foster parent(s).

Classifications

Relation to previous version

  • Economic family status of person July 31, 2026 to current

    In French, the concept "situation dans la famille économique" has been renamed "statut dans la famille économique." The definition and derivation of the concept "economic family status" have been modified, as have several definitions in the classification.

  • Economic family status of person May 26, 2021 to July 30, 2026

    The definition of the concept 'economic family status' has been modified, as have several definitions in the classification. The terminology used in the classification has been modified in French from 'partenaire en union libre' to 'conjoint de fait'.

  • Economic family status of person November 16, 2015 to May 25, 2021

    Foster children are now included in "Other economic family member" instead of "Child of economic family reference person."

    The two methods for deriving economic family characteristics have been included.

  • Economic family status of person October 22, 2007 to November 15, 2015

    The previous standard made no reference to same sex couples and did not include foster children. The new terminology, "Person not in an economic family", has replaced "Unattached individual".

  • Economic family status July 15, 1998 to October 21, 2007
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