World Family Map: Mapping Family Change and Child Well-Being Outcomes

The World Family Map Project is an initiative by Child Trends which seeks both to monitor the health of family life around the globe and to learn more about how family trends affect the well-being of children. Given the centrality of the family to child and adult well-being and the changing dynamic and structure of families today, the project will issue an annual report, The World Family Map, designed to paint a holistic portrait of global family life by mapping trends in family structure, family socioeconomics, family processes, and family culture in every region of the world. The report will be the first to provide internationally comparative data for low-, middle-, and high-income countries on key characteristics of families across the selected domains. It will also feature an essay on a topic of major international import to the family, usually related to child well-being.
For its inaugural 2013 edition, the map covers family trends in 45 countries, representing every region of the world, as well as a majority of the world’s population. This edition also features the essay, Two, One or No Parents? Children’s Living Arrangements and Educational Outcomes Around the World, which explores the links between one indicator of family structure and children’s educational outcomes in low-, middle-, and high-income countries.