The Scottish Government

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2. The composition and characteristics of households in Scotland

The SHS collects information on a number of levels: for the household as a whole, about individual household members and for the Scottish population resident in private households. Information about the household, including details of the age, sex and working status of all household members is collected from the household respondent. The structure of households is illustrated in Figures 2.1 and 2.2. Almost a third of households (32%) in Scotland contain only one adult (single adult i.e. one person of non-pensionable age, or single pensioner ¹). Families with children aged under 16 make up just over a quarter (26%) of households. Single adult households (of non-pensionable age) are more common in large urban areas; 21% in large urban areas compared with, for example 12% in remote rural areas (Table 2.1). The General Register Office for Scotland publishes household estimates based on SHS data. These figures differ from those published here, as they are weighted using the 2001 Census results to adjust for any bias due to the under- or over-sampling of certain household types.

Figure 2.1: Household type
2006 data, Households

Figure 2.2: Number of people in the household
2006 data, Households

Table 2.1: Household type ² by urban/rural classification
Column percentages, 2006 data
Households

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