Garenne, Michel2023-05-232023-05-231981-02-012007-11-16https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/44189The paper starts with a discussion of the concepts of household and family in historical and contemporary populations and summarizes the debate about size of households. A study of the average size of households and compounds recorded by censuses and surveys in tropical Africa is done followed by a discussion of the various definitions of households. Finally an illustration is given using data collected on the Serer, an ethnic group in Senegal.SenegalSererAfricatropical Africafamily sizefamily structurehouseholdshousehold compositiondomestic groupdeveloping countriessurveyscensuseskin networkscollective householdscompoundsresidential mobilityresidential patternshousehold dynamicshousehold structureWorking Paper