asuntokuntaa

Asuntokuntaa is the partitive form used in Finnish demography to refer to the household as a social and statistical unit. An asuntokunta (the base form) is the group of people who live in the same dwelling and share a home, its facilities, and generally its housing costs. The unit can consist of a single person living alone or of several people who may be related, such as a family or a couple, or unrelated individuals who cohabit as roommates. The key criterion is co-residence in a single dwelling and the sharing of living arrangements rather than formal family ties.

In official statistics, asuntokunta is used to describe living arrangements, determine household size, and analyze housing demand, occupancy, and tenure patterns. It is distinct from the term perhe (family), as a household may include non-relatives; conversely, all members of a family usually constitute one asuntokunta, but definitions can vary by data collection method.

The concept informs urban planning, housing policy, and social services by providing a standard unit for measuring population distribution and housing needs. Data on asuntokunta help policymakers assess market activity, plan affordable housing, and analyze demographic trends such as aging, migration, and household formation.