The table shows the proportion of various household types living in poverty in Australia in 1999, along with the number of individuals affected within each category.
Single-aged people made up 6% of those in poverty, with a total of 54,000 individuals, while aged couples had the lowest poverty rate at 4%, affecting 48,000 people. This indicates that elderly households, particularly couples, were less affected by poverty compared to other groups.
Among non-elderly households, the poverty rate for singles without children was notably high at 19%, representing 359,000 people. Couples without children had a poverty rate of 7%, totaling 211,000 individuals. This suggests that single individuals faced a higher likelihood of living in poverty than couples without children.
For households with dependents, sole-parent families had the highest poverty rate of all groups at 21%, affecting 232,000 people. Couples with children showed a 12% poverty rate, yet they accounted for the largest number of people in poverty, with 933,000 individuals impacted.
Overall, the data reveals significant variation in poverty levels across different household types, with sole parents and singles without children particularly affected. In total, 11% of all households in Australia were living in poverty in 1999, equating to 1,837,000 people.