One out of five 25 to 29 year olds lived in their parental home in 2016 (20.3%, 95% confidence interval +/- 3.5%), 24.8% of men (+/- 5.2%) and 15.6% of women (+/- 4.4%). The difference between the sexes is statistically significant over the long-term although not for individual years. As an example, over the period 2014-2016 26.8% (+/- 3.9%) of men and 14.3 (+/- 2.8%) of women between the ages of 25 and 29 were living with their parents, on average. This is among the newly published results from the Icelandic Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC).
The share of 25-29 year olds living with their parents varies within Europe. In 2016 this proportion was highest in Croatia (74.5%) while the average was 38.6% within the European Union. Of all the participating countries in EU-SILC, the proportion of 25-29 year olds who had not flown the nest was the eighth lowest in Iceland (20.3%). However, that is more than twice the proportion of the other Nordic countries. In Denmark just under 5% of young people lived with their parents in 2016, 6% in Finland and 9% in Sweden and Norway.
Source: Eurostat
Women in Iceland leave their parental homes sooner than men do as in Europe in general. Focusing on all adults in their twenties (20-29 year olds) 34.4% of women (+/- 4.4%) and 44.1% of men (+/- 4.9%) were living with their parents in 2016. Since Iceland first took part in EU-SILC in 2004, the share of women in their twenties still in the nest was lowest at 23.0% (+/- 3.2%) in 2005 but has increased quite steadily since then while the share of men in this age-group still living with their parents has stayed about the same.
About the data
For the longitudinal survey EU-SILC Statistics Iceland contacts close to 5 thousand households every year. In 2016, 4,430 households were contacted and thereof responses were received from 2,870, giving a response rate of 64.8%.