Kotitalousyksikön

Kotitalousyksikön is a Finnish statistical term that refers to the smallest social and economic unit used in official data collections. It roughly corresponds to what is commonly called a household in English. A kotitalousyksikön consists of all people living in the same dwelling who share income, expenses and decisions about consumption, forming a single economic entity within that dwelling.

The composition of a kotitalousyksikön can vary. It typically includes a family living together, but it can also be a group of roommates, a single adult, or any other arrangement in which residents share housing costs and manage resources jointly. The concept emphasizes living arrangements and economic interdependence rather than kinship or legal ties alone. It is not defined by family structure but by the practical unit used for statistical analysis.

Institutions such as student dormitories, care homes, prisons, or other long-term residential facilities are usually counted as separate institutional units rather than as kotitalousyksiköt. In statistics, data pertaining to individuals in such settings are handled with different methodological considerations.

Kotitalousyksikön is used in a wide range of national statistics, including income, expenditure, housing conditions, and population censuses. The unit provides the basis for producing per-household statistics, such as average income, housing costs, and living conditions, and its Finnish definition aligns with the international concept of a household used in EU and global statistics.