63. The Incredible Shrinking Cousin Count

 

 

Canadian data obtained from a recent international study projects that the average 15-year-old girl will have just 3.6 living cousins in the year 2095, compared to 15.3 in 1950 — a 76 per cent decrease in living cousins.

 

 

 

Wow! That means that our world of cousins is rapidly diminishing.

 

 

 

So, as families shrink in size, the cousin count automatically decreases. In my own case, my mother came from a family of 13 siblings. And her siblings, mostly farm folks, typically also had large families. Hence, I have an enormous number of cousins. Love them all. And my annual summer trip to “The farm” ensured a host of other world experiences and relationships that have lasted a lifetime.

 

 

 

Looking at my own family, we have only three grandchildren. Shrinking indeed.

 

 

 

I have been fortunate enough to work through several family history research projects with some of my cousins as collaborators. What wonderful projects, complete with that understood joint kinship. Cannot think of more rewarding projects, something my grandchildren are not likely to experience.

 

 

 

Reference: “Projections of human kinship for all countries” - Diego Alburez-Gutierrez, Iván Williams, and Hal Caswell, December 2023