1.1. A wide range of family structures

A detailed breakdown reveals the high prevalence of complex households: 4 in 10 Polynesians (41%) lived in such arrangements in 2017 (Table 1). In that year, a quarter of all households in Polynesia were complex compared with just 4% in metropolitan France, while relatively few people lived alone. One-person households accounted for just 15% of households in French Polynesia versus 36% in metropolitan France (­ISPF, INSEE, 2017).

Lineage households and collateral households are the two main categories of complex households. Multigenerational lineage households (representing 16% of all households and 30% of the population) are the most common form of complex coresidence. Many young couples continue to cohabit with the parents of one or the other partner, only moving out when they start a family, or sometimes later. Likewise, older adults may move in with one of their children or be joined by an adult child in their own home. In French Polynesia, life expectancy was 75 years for men and 79 years for women in 2017² (ISPF), but care facilities for dependent older adults are rare.³ A majority (62%) of lineage households comprise three or more generations of the same family line, with a single family nucleus in the intermediate generation (a couple with their children and one grandparent, for example). Half of the remaining households comprise two generations of adults (a parental couple and their children, one of whom lives with a partner in the household), and the other half are multigenerational households including several family lines. The age distribution of these households shows that they comprise a majority of young adults (ages 20–30), their (very) young children, and, to a lesser extent, their elders (Figure 1).

Collateral households represent around 5.5% of households and 7.4% of individuals. They are formed by members of a same family, but without their elders. This living arrangement is often preferred by young adults who have left the parental home but cannot afford to live alone or in a nuclear family. This phase of coresidence during adolescence or early adulthood has been documented by anthropologists [5]. Half of all collateral households comprise a family nucleus along with other single family members (coresident sisters of which only one with a partner, for example). A quarter count unpartnered and childless members (brothers and cousins, for example). The remainder corresponds to households comprising several families with collateral ties (brothers and sisters, of which at least two have a partner). The age pyramid of these household members shows that most are young adults (ages 20–35).

Traditionally, in French Polynesia, extended family coresidence contributed to sharing and maintaining farmland and land rights. But the contemporary Polynesian economy no longer justifies this living arrangement. The population is now highly concentrated in the urban agglomeration of Papeete on the island of Tahiti (49.6% in 2017), where living conditions are very different from those on which the traditional rural model is based. The sociodemographic profile of these extended family households bears witness to these changes.

1.2. Members may be economically insecure…

In a context of limited access to economic resources and housing, sharing a home with extended family still provides a means to pool resources and income. Unemployment rates are high in French Polynesia: 21% in 2017 compared with 6.8% in metropolitan France in the same year. Moreover, in the absence of unemployment benefits or job-seekers’ allowances and given the few job opportunities on the most remote islands, people available to work may report being inactive [6].

The census sheds light on the sociodemographic characteristics of complex household members, providing data on their employment status (employed/unemployed) and educational level (tertiary qualification/primary qualification/no qualification). Figures 2 and 3 show, respectively, the individual probabilities of living in a lineage household or a collateral household by comparable age structure (based on logistic regressions). The bar labelled Overall gives the total share of people aged 15 and above living in a lineage household or a collateral household.

People with tertiary qualifications less frequently live in complex households. They are half as likely to live in a lineage or collateral household as all individuals at the same age. Conversely, people with few or no qualifications are 25% more likely to live in a lineage or collateral household. Clearly, educational level is an important determinant of coresidence with extended family members. Finding a job is more difficult for the least qualified individuals: 40% of those with only a primary or lower secondary qualification were jobless in 2022. By contrast, the unemployment rate is just 11% for people with an upper secondary qualification and 4% for those with a tertiary qualification [6].

This is confirmed by the proportions of unemployed and employed people living in complex households. Unemployed people live much more often than employed people in lineage households (39% vs. 26%) and in collateral households (9% vs. 7%). Employed people are less likely to live in these types of households than the population as a whole at the same age.

Economic insecurity thus appears to increase the likelihood of coresidence with extended family members. Sharing a home makes it easier to pool economic resources and share household tasks between family members.

1.3. … but less exposed to poor housing conditions

The comfort of a dwelling depends upon the amenities it provides. The absence of a kitchen, bathroom, running water, sewerage, or refuse collection⁴ has a significant impact on the occupants’ well-being. These components of substandard housing may affect the household’s daily welfare and hygiene, exposing them to the risk of ill health. People living alone are most exposed to substandard housing conditions (Figure 4). Almost 5%, a percentage well above that of the other categories, live in housing with at least three of the components of substandard housing mentioned above.

It is lineage households, on the other hand, that least commonly live in substandard dwellings, with just 1.2% counting at least three components of substandard housing. For collateral households, the proportion is 2.3%. Collateral households thus inhabit dwellings of slightly lower quality than those of lineage households, but the proportion is well below that of households overall (3.4%) and similar to that of nuclear families.

A higher proportion of people living alone also occupy makeshift dwellings (caravans, mobile homes, shacks, etc.): 2.6% compared with between 1.2% (lineage households) and 1.8% (couples with children) for the other population categories. For collateral households, the proportion is 1.7%, similar to that of childless couples (1.6%) and below that of households overall (1.8%).

Complex households rarely live in makeshift or severely substandard dwellings. Coresidence with extended family may thus avoid situations of extreme housing insecurity. Whether inter- or intragenerational, cohabitating families enjoy better housing conditions. Among complex households, collateral households slightly more often occupy substandard housing but in the same proportion as nuclear families.

These forms of coresidence alleviate the difficulties associated with economic insecurity. The less favourable situation of people living alone suggests that coresidence with extended family also protects against the risks of housing insecurity. That said, coresidence of this type presents other risks, such as overcrowding, not covered here. This may occur when several family nuclei live together in an unsuitable home, in urban areas especially, where dwellings are smaller and where 50% of the French Polynesian population now live [2]; almost 60% of overcrowded dwellings are occupied by multifamily households [7].