The data illustrate the proportion of individuals that own one or more automobiles in a specific country from 1971 to 2001.
Overall, there is a significant shift in car ownership between 1971 and 1981, and 1991 and 2001. Both in 1971 and 1981, the majority of citizens did not own a car and most of them of that did had acquired one car. Starting from 1991, the vast majority of population owned at least one car and most individuals had one car registered under their name.
More specifically, in 1971 48% of residents were not in possession of any car, and used other means of transportation. Additionally, 32% of the population owned one vehicle, while one fifth owned two or more vehicles. The data did not change significantly in that decade, and experienced a slight increase of 5% in the proportion of people owning 2 or more cars in expense of the other two categories whose numbers decreased.
In 1991, the percentage of people owning one car soared and reached its overall peak at 48%, while both the other categories experienced a sudden fall. In detail, 21% of people owned 2 or more vehicles and 31% did not own one.
In the next decade, owning one car was again the most prevalent category comprising of 44% of the population, while the other two categories were matched at 28%, showcasing the continuous negative trend that characterized the category of people that did not own any vehicle during the studied period.