Family change and variation through the lens of <i>family configurations</i> in low‐ and middle‐income countries

Using 254 Demographic and Health Surveys from 75 low- middle-income countries, this study shows how the joint examination of family characteristics across rural urban areas provides new insights for understanding global change. We operationalise approach by building configurations: a set interrelated features that describe different patterns formation structure. These include partnership (marriage/unions) regimes their stability, gender relations, household composition reproduction. Factorial clustering techniques allow us to summarise these into three factorial axes six discrete configurations. provide an in-depth description configurations, spatial distribution changes over time. Global change is uneven because it emerges complex interplays between relative steadiness longstanding arrangements forming families organising rapidly changing dynamics observed in realms fertility, contraception, timing formation.