The purpose of this study is to examine ethnic variations in children’s living arrangements in South Africa. Data from a from a 10% sample of the 1996 South African population census are used. Social scientists concerned with the living arrangements of children point
to negative consequences associated with living in a single-parent household such as increased poverty, and poor developmental and schooling outcomes. Descriptive results show marked ethnic variations in the living arrangements of children. More than half of the
children live in extended households as opposed to living in a two-parent nuclear household or a single-parent nuclear household. I also use multinomial logit models to test the effect of different individual and head of household characteristics on the living arrangements of children. The multivariate results suggest that the most important correlates of children’s living arrangements among South African blacks include child’s sex, survival status of parents, sex , level of education and employment status of household head. Household size and place of residence are also strong correlates of children’s living arrangements.