Band 8+: The table below shows the proportion of different categories of families living in poverty in Australia in 1999. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The table gives a report of the different types of families who were living in poverty in

Australia in 1999.

Overall, sole parents and single adults without children were the most vulnerable groups, while elderly couples and single elderly people were the least affected. In total, around 1 in 10 people experienced poverty.

Specifically, couples generally tended to be better off, with lower poverty levels for couples without children (7%) than those with children. It is noticeable that for both types of households, the percentage of couple with children was higher and the percentage of couple without children was lower than the average proportion of households living in poverty at this time.

In comparison, elderly people were generally less likely to be poor. Even though the trend favoured elderly couples (only 4%) rather than single elderly people (6%), it was worth noticing that both numbers were much lower compared with other types of households. According to the table, households of single adults and those with children were more likely to be living in poverty than those of couples.