The chart demonstrates a comparison of people per household by proportion in the UK in 1981 and 2001.
Overall, households with more individuals became less common in 2001, indicating a downward trend for households with more than 2 people. In contrast, 1 and 2 people per household witnessed an upward trend. Prominently, households with 2 people had the highest proportion in both years, while households with 6 people accounted for the lowest percentage.
Regarding the favoured trend in 2001, both the 1 person and 2 people per household categories experienced an increase in 2001. The 1 person per household group received a substantial jump from 17% in 1981 to 26% in 2001, which is second to the 2 people per household group. Turning to the most predominant group, households with 2 dwellers experienced a marginal rise from 31% in 1981 to 34% in 2001, which was twice that of the 3 people per household group at 17%.
In terms of a downward trend, all households with more than 2 people declined. From 1981 to 2001, the 4 people and 5 people per household categories dropped moderately from 18% to 15% and 8% to 6%, respectively. As for the smallest proportion group, households with 6 dwellers dropped significantly from 6% in 1981 to 2% in 2001. The proportion of households with 3 people decreased from 20% in 1981 to 17% in 2001.