Band 9: The table below shows the proportion of different categories of families living in poverty in Australia in 1999. Summuraise the information by selectin and reporting the mai features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The table compares the proportion and number of people living in poverty in Australia in 1999 across different household types.

Overall, sole-parent families had the highest poverty rate, while aged couples were the least affected. In contrast, although couples with children did not have the highest proportion in poverty, they accounted for by far the largest number of people living in poverty. The overall poverty rate across all households stood at 11%.

In terms of proportions, 21% of sole-parent households were in poverty, which was the highest figure shown. This was followed by single people with no children at 19%. Couples with children had a lower rate at 12%, which was slightly above the national average. Couples without children experienced a relatively low rate of 7%, while the figures for older people were the lowest: 6% for single aged persons and only 4% for aged couples.

Looking at absolute numbers, couples with children made up the largest group in poverty at 933,000 people. This was significantly higher than single adults without children (359,000) and sole parents (232,000). The smallest numbers were seen among aged couples (48,000) and single aged persons (54,000). Overall, the data shows that poverty was most prevalent among families with children in terms of numbers, but most concentrated among sole-parent households in terms of rate.