The bar chart illustrates the percentage of households in one European country that owned no car, one car, or two cars between 1971 and 2001.
Overall, car ownership increased significantly over the period, with fewer households having no car, while the proportion of households with one or two cars rose.
In 1971, nearly half of households (about 48%) did not own a car, making this the largest group. Around one-third had one car, and only about 17% owned two cars. By 1981, the percentage of households without a car had fallen to just over 40%, while the figures for one-car and two-car households grew slightly.
The most noticeable change occurred in 1991, when one-car households became the largest group at around 45%, overtaking those with no car, which dropped sharply to about 30%. At the same time, households with two cars increased moderately to just over 20%
By 2001, the proportion of families without a car continued to fall to about 28%, while those with one car remained the largest group at around 44%. Meanwhile, households with two cars rose to roughly 30%, almost equalling the no-car category
