The table illustrates the percentages of various family compositions experiencing poverty in Australia during 1999.
Overall, 11% of Australian households, representing 1,837,000 people, were suffering from financial hardship in 1999. Notably, single-parent families experienced the highest poverty rate of 21%, closely followed by single-person households. In addition, elderly individuals and couples had comparatively lower poverty rates than other groups, at only 6% and 4% respectively.
However, married couples had a relatively better financial situation compared to sole-parent families and single-person groups. Childless couples had a significantly lower poverty rate of 7% than those with children, as evidenced by the poverty level of 12%. It is also noticeable that the poverty level of households with children, such as sole parents (21%) and couples with children (12%), is higher than those without children, like single-person groups (19%) and childless couples (7%).
To sum up, family structure appears to be a strong factor in analysing poverty in Australia in 1999, with sole-parent families and single-person households being the most vulnerable groups among all household categories.
