A study by the Department of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Drees), carried out from the “Caregivers” section of the Autonomy-Ménages 2022 survey, focuses on the number of caregivers in 2022, their demographic characteristics, the link between them and the people they care for and the type of assistance provided. These results are put into perspective with those from the “Informal caregivers” section of the 2008 Handicap-Santé survey in order to retrace developments over fifteen years. We learn that the number of caregivers decreases by 340,000 between 2008 and 2022, that they are older than in 2008 and that they are more part of the immediate family. Women remain in the majority, but the involvement of men is increasing. Press release.
The Autonomy surveys, conducted from 2021 to 2025, and the Handicap-Santé surveys, conducted from 2007 to 2009, aim to estimate the number of people with disabilities or loss of autonomy and to describe their living conditions and to better understand the situation of caregivers. Caregivers are identified by the declaration of those receiving assistance: people declare that they regularly receive help from one or more members of their entourage due to their health, their disability or their advancing age.
The number of caregivers decreases by 340,000 between 2008 and 2022
Despite the increasingly essential role of so-called “informal” caregivers, their number is not increasing. In 2022, 5.3 million people aged 16 or over (i.e. 8.9% of the population) provide regular assistance in the daily life of people with loss of autonomy or disability aged 5 or over living at home in mainland France: a drop of 340,000, i.e. – 6%. The share of these caregivers in the population therefore drops from 10% to 9%. This development cannot be explained by a reduction in the need for home help: the number of people living at home declaring they need help with activities of daily living increased by 80,000 over the period. It seems rather to result from changes in family structures – increase in the age at motherhood, decline in fertility and life as a couple – and the increase in the employment rate – particularly for women and 50-64 year olds.
Caregivers older than in 2008
Between 2008 and 2022, the population of caregivers is aging: their average age reaches 55 years and 4 months in 2022, compared to 52 years and 11 months in 2008. This aging is explained both by the aging of the French population as a whole but also by the increase in life expectancy without loss of autonomy of people living at home which tends to delay the moment when help becomes necessary and which allows older people to continue to assume a caring role.
Assistance with daily living focuses more on the immediate familycaregivers with more distant ties to the care recipient become less frequent within the population of caregivers. Thus, the share of spouses increased from 24% to 28% between 2008 and 2002 and that of children, from 35% to 39%. Women remain the majority among caregivers.
Caregivers help with more tasks of daily living
The share of caregivers providing help for only one type of task decreases sharply (from 35% to 21%), while the share of caregivers providing help for three to seven different types of tasks increases from 40% to 51% (graph). Furthermore, the number of hours devoted to help also increases between 2008 and 2022: 47% of caregivers aged 16 or over who help a single person living in ordinary housing for daily life report devoting less than 7 hours per week to it in 2022, compared to 55% in 2008. The share of those devoting between 7 and 35 hours increases from 37% to 40%, and those spending 35 hours or more per week now represent 13%, compared to 8% in 2008.
Women remain the majority among caregivers
Although women remain in the majority, the involvement of male caregivers is intensifying, particularly that of
fathers of a child under 20 and brothers, and they participate more in tasks previously carried out almost exclusively by women.
Mothers, daughters and sisters continue to provide daily assistance more often than fathers, sons and brothers, in 2022 as in 2008. In particular, the share of women is increasing among child caregivers (62% women in 2022, compared to 58% in 2008). However, the involvement of fathers and brothers is increasing to help a child under 20 with a disability.
Furthermore, spouses continue to help more often than wives: 58% of men among helping spouses in 2022, 57% in 2008 (Verhagen, 2025). All things being equal, men remain over-represented among assisting spouses, with no significant change between 2008 and 2022.
Verhagen, A. (2025). Three out of ten caregivers accompany their loved one alone, six out of ten are working or students. Drees, Studies and Results, 1358.
To find out more:
• The number of caregivers in daily life drops by 6% between 2008 and 2022, and the help provided is increasing, Drees study, June 2026.
