The charts illustrate the proportion of different-sized households in the UK in two separate years, namely 1981 and 2001.
Overall, the most common sized household in both years was that of 2-person, while 6-person households were the least common. Additionally, the percentage of 1 and 2-person households increased, while the opposite scenario was true for all households with other size.
In 1981, a third of all households contained 2 people, while the households with 3 people were responsible for fifth part of it. 1 and 4-person households made up almost the same percentage, with a difference of 1 percentage, at 17% and 18% respectively, whereas 5-person and 6-person households only made up 8% and 6% of the total.
By 2001, the proportion of 1-person and 2-person households had risen to 26% and 34% respectively. However, this data decreased among other-sized households by the second year, with 3 and 4-person households dropping to similar levels, with an average number of 16%. In 2001, 5-person households were represented 6% of the total UK households and in this year 6-person households showed the lowest portion in both years, amounting to only 2%.