The number of relatives a person has will decrease by more than 35% worldwide as the structure of families change, according to a study projecting the evolution of human kinship.

Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research predicts the number of cousins, nieces, nephews and grandchildren will decline sharply, while the number of great-grandparents and grandparents will increase significantly.

In 1950, a 65-year-old woman had an average of 41 living relatives. By 2095, a woman of the same age will have an average of only 25.

For the study, the researchers analyzed historical and projected data from the 2022 revision of the United Nation’s World Population Prospects.

The biggest fall will be in developing world countries because developed countries have already seen dramatic falls in family size.
“We expect the overall size of families to decline permanently in all regions of the world. We expect the largest declines in South America and the Caribbean,” says lead researcher Diego Alburez-Gutierrez.