The Top 13 Jaw-dropping World’s Biggest Families

The 13 World’s Biggest Families


The number of total individuals of the biggest families in the world on this list is staggering. There are benefits to raising a family. Family can be a source of encouragement and affection. Family members can help each other in times of need as well. 


Generally, most families in the world today are made up of fathers, mothers, and two kids. Some couples on this list choose to have large families while certain ones never thought of it at first. Some couples here gives birth to many kids naturally, two couples adopt children while two are polygamous family. 


Here are the world’s biggest families, they are,  

  1. Ziona family - The world's biggest family 
  2. Daad Mohammed Murad Abdul Rahman Family
  3. Luiz Costa de Oliveira family
  4. Nikolenko family
  5. Radford family
  6. Duggar family
  7. Gil and Kelly Bates Family
  8. Bonnell Family
  9. Derrico Family
  10. Turpin family
  11. Hursh family
  12. MacFarlane family
  13. Britini Church and Chris Family


Keep reading!



13. Britini Church and Chris Family  

Britini Church and Chris are raising big family of 11 kids as one of the biggest families in the world.


No. of children: 11


Chris's family lives in Arkansas City, Kansas, US. Britini Church, 34 years and her Husband, 31 has raised 11 kids. In 2019, the couple welcomes triplets, in addition to their 8 children. when she was16 years she had her first child. 


Britini said she desire to have more than 4 kids if only her children will support that, but not more than 15 kids. She said she loves the company of many children.  Britini and her husband spend a lot of money around £230 on groceries per week. 


Britini divorced her first husband in 2010. She raised her six children as a single mum before remarrying. Then in 2014, she married her present husband, Chris. After which she gave birth to more than five kids. They are all living together as a big family.



12. MacFarlane Family  

MacFarlane family is among the biggest families in the world.
Ray and Shelly on their wedding day with their children and some wedding guest. Image credit: Ray MacFarlane/Lancs.live

No. of children: 12


MacFarlane's family is from Blackburn, Lancashire, England. The family is 14 in numbers. Ray and Shelly, the couple with the big family have no biological children together. Before marrying, the couple had six children each from their previous marriages. When they married, they both move in together with their kids which include two sets of twins. The children's ages are from  2 to 17 years. Ray said they have blended well as a family. 




11. Hursh Family  

George and Kate Hursh are parents to one of the biggest families in the world.
Kimberly Carrillo/GSN Staff Photographer/eastvalleytribune.com

No. of children: 12 plus 45 fosters kids


George and Kate Hursh are parents to a big family from Gilbert, Arizona, United States. The couple married in 2005. They later adopt 12 kids that their age ranges from four to 14 years. Among the children are 2 sibling groups of 3 children respectively. One of the reasons they kept adopting many kids is because of their desire to keep siblings together. George and Kate Hursh also foster 45 children since 2008.



10. Turpin Family  

Turpin family is another big family in the world by David and Louise Turpin with 13 children.
The Turpin's children with their parents on the couple's wedding day in 2016 

No. of children: 13


Turpin family is another big family by David and Louise Turpin with 13 children. The children ages are from 30 to 3years. Sadly, for decades the children suffered in their parents' hands. The family is said to be a house of horror. They were malnourished, beaten, chained to the bed. In fact, the children said they only bathe once a year. 


The children all have stunted growth and some suffered cognitive impairment due to being malnourished. They lack basic knowledge. They are always locked inside, they are not allowed to meet people.


They are only active at night until 5 am in the morning that they are allowed to sleep. For the whole day, they will sleep. It is like their lives are upside down.  The children narrated that sometimes they can be chained with a padlock for weeks or even months as punishment. 


It was a boy that is a 17-year-old boy that escaped through the parent's window's room, that they were to be saved. They said they've planned to escape before but because they have no knowledge about where to go and what to do. These have always stopped them from escaping. 


They've been planning to escape because of the memories they had in Las Vegas. The whole family went to Las Vegas where David and Louise renowned their wedding vow. So the memories were with the children, that one day they will escape to Las Vegas.  


When the police get to their house, some of the victims were still chained. The children were denied medical care, even some said they never see a pill before. The parents will buy food like apple pie and they will eat it in their presence children without giving them. For this, in 2019, the couple has been sentenced to life after they pleaded guilty and in 25 years parole possible to their offense.



9. Derrico's Family 

Derrico Family are one of the large families in the world that live in Las Vegas, US.
Image credit: Deon Derrico/Instagram 

No. of children: 14


Derrico Family are large families that live in Las Vegas, US. Karen and Deon have 14 biological children together. They are an African-American couple with multiple children. Among the kids are twins, 2 sets of triplets, and quintuplets. Derrico's kids are born as natural multiple births. None were born through IVF. Karen breastfed all her children. 


The couple said both sides of their family do have multiple births. During the lockdown, the family did creative activities to keep their children busy including talent shows.  The Derrico's have been featured on a show on TLC. The couple said for the TV show, they want to set an example for couples who have lost a child in death because the couple has experienced two miscarriages. Also, for couples with multiples children and couples with children having disabilities.  


No matter how big Derrico's are, their kids are well disciplined and this really amazes everyone that meets them. Karen is a stay-at-home mum, she is homeschooling their kids while Deon is a real estate investor. They spent between $2500  to $3500 on food alone monthly. The couple did not disclose whether they will have more kids or not.


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8. Bonnell Family

One of the world's largest family is Bonnell's family in Australia.
Image credit: The Bonnell Family/Facebook 


No. of children:
16


One of the world's largest families is Bonnell's family in Australia. Jeni and Ray have 16 biological children together, Seven daughters and nine sons. Their children age ranges from 30 to five years. Ray said when he met his wife; she didn’t have the intention of having a kid. 


Then, they gave birth to two then she wants to have the third one and the fourth until the 16th was born.  Now they are one of the biggest families in the world. Jeni is a writer, vlogger, and stay-at-home mum. While ray is an electrician. The family has a 16 seater bus and the mum, Jeni is their transporter. 


The challenge they face as a big family is feeding. On daily basis, the family uses up to six liters of milk and two loaves of bread. Bonnel family has a roaster they follow. According to Ray, immediately their child turns 8, they are put on the roaster for household chores including preparing meals. 


Despite the fact that the couple has many kids, they still find time to spend alone with each other. They make that a priority, which contributed to their strong bond. Jeni and Ray are also blessed with grandchildren.



7. Gil and Kelly Bates Family  

Gil and Kelly Bates family is among the biggest families in the world.
Image credit: UPtv

No. of children: 19


Gil and Kelly Bates got married in December 1987. In 1988, their first child was born.  Since that time, almost every year, the couple is giving birth until 2012 that they stop giving birth. The couple has 19 biological children together, ten girls and nine boys. 


Some adults among the children are married, so Gil and Kelly Bates are now grandparents to 14 kids. “It was Kelly’s idea to have a large family, in the past she said they could have 20 kids”, said the husband. Gil added that they never knew that they could raise 19 kids as they thought but they trust God and they believe those children are amazing God's blessings.



6. Duggar Family  

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are parents to nineteen biological children are among the biggest families in the world.
Image credit: cheatseat.com

No. of children: 20


Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are parents to nineteen biological children and one adopted child. Joshua James Duggar, their first son, and the first child was given birth in March 1988. Since that time the couple always gives birth every year except the year after twins were born. 


Meaning that from 1988 to 2009, they are giving birth almost every year. Among the children are 2 sets of fraternal twins. They are grandparents to 20 kids as well. They have been featured in 2 TV shows. From 2008 to 2015 they are the subject of 19 kids and counting show and in 2015 counting show on TLC. 


The children attend school at home, the parents believe that the only best way they can teach their children Christian values. As the children grew older, they help their younger siblings as well. In 2001, the family decides to pair older ones with younger ones to help with tasks such as schooling, bathing, feeding, and dressing.



5. Radford Family

Radford's family are the biggest family in Britain and the 5th in the world.
Noel and Sue with 20 of their children. Image credit: TheRadfordsFamily/Instagram 

No. of children: 22


Radford's families are Britain's biggest family and the 5th in the world. They live in Morecambe, Lancashire, England. For good 30 years, Noel and Sue have been giving birth to kids and raising them.  Despite the fact that the children are many, they are still able to keep their house neat and tidy. 


The big family lives in a four-story building that has 10 bedrooms. They have adults children that are married and they are grandparents as well. The couple spends a huge amount of money on feeding every week. 


The family on average every week, consumes about 3 tubes of toothpaste, 24 toilet rolls, 16 pints of milk, and 56 sausages. Thanks to the family bakery business they were able to cope. Sue, the mum said house chores are never-ending while Noel said homeschooling chaos is nightmares.


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4. Nikolenko Family  

Nikolenko family from Russia is among the biggest families in the world.
Nikolai & Lyudmila Nikolenko getting their Order of Parental Glory. Image credit: en.kremlin.ru/ CC BY 4.0
CC BY 

No. of children: 27


Lyudmila and Nikolenko raised 6 biological children together. But they were not satisfied so they adopt 19 more children. The total number of the family is 27. The couple receives an award for raising a large family from the Russian government. This is because the Russian government realizes that the population of the country is shrinking. And large families like them can help the governments to cope with such national challenges.



3. Luiz Costa de Oliveira Family  

Luiz Costa de Oliveira family is the third biggest family in the world.
Elderly Oliveira and his elderly wives. Image credit: hogarzumaia.blogspot.com

No. of children: 50


Luiz Costa de Oliveira family lives in the town of Campo Grande, Brazil. Oliveira is an elderly retired farmer and father to a big family. He had 2 wives; the two women that born with 17 children each. After the death of his first wife, he decides to have another one and create a big family. He then has additional 16 children from two more women. He has about 100 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren. Oliveira concludes, “The best thing that God made in this world was women”.



2. Daad Mohammed Murad Abdul Rahman Family  

Daad Mohammed Murad Abdul Rahman Family is the second among the biggest families in the world.
Image credit: emirates247.com

No. of children: 93


Daad Murad the family head said his goal is to father 100 children. Daad Murad is 75 years old father to a large family in UAE. 17 women gave birth to children with him.  Presently, he may have more than 93 children and 50 grandchildren. He lost two of his sons which really saddens him and the entire family. 


At the same time, his goal was set back. Because he has the goal of having 100 children. Officially there are 4 wives with him because the UAE only allows four wives for a man and less. He will marry a wife, then divorce them after having children, marry another again, and get divorced again until they are 17.  


Each wife lives with their children in their 17 different houses with their housemaids. But every week, the family meets at Al Balushi's old home. Each wife has individual cars to convey their children to Al Balushi's old house. The majority of his wives are women from Morocco and the Philippines. He said if he is allowed that he can manage 20 wives, not to stay only with just 4 wives. More stories here



1. Ziona Family-World's Biggest Family  

Ziona Chana is the head of Ziona's family, the biggest family in the world.
Image credit: Getty Images

No. of children: 94


Ziona Chana is the head of Ziona's family. He is a religious leader of a sect that promotes polygamy. The family lives in Baktawng Tlangnuam, Mizoram state, India. He has 39 wives, 94 children, and 33 grandchildren. Approximately they are 181 individuals in the family. 


They all live in a 4 stories big house with about 100 rooms. The family lifestyle has always attracted people, people like to see their house and how they are coping with each other under the same roof.  Ziona's family has also been twice featured in the famous TV show, Ripley's Believe it or Not. 


Ziona family is believed to be the largest family in the world, until the death of Chana the head of the Ziona family on June 13, 2021. He died at the age of 76 after battling diabetes and hypertension, according to this report



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3 Comments

  1. Nice post. Such a pity that Ziona Chana is gone

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