The table illustrates changes in the floor area, average household size, and consequent living space per person for four types of flats (from 3-room to Executive) across three decades: the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
Overall, the most notable trends were a consistent decline in both the average household size and the floor area of most flat types over the period, which together led to a general increase in living space per person. The Executive and 5-room flats consistently provided the most spacious accommodation per occupant.
In detail, the average household size fell steadily from 4.6 persons in the 1980s to 3.9 in the 1990s and then to 3.4 in the 2000s. Concurrently, the floor area for most flat types shrank. For instance, 4-room flats reduced from 105 sq m in the 1980s to 100 sq m in the 1990s and to 90 sq m by the 2000s. A similar pattern was observed for 5-room flats, which decreased from 123 to 110 sq m. Data for 3-room flats in the 1990s and Executive flats in the 2000s were not available.
Despite the reduction in flat sizes, the living space per person rose for almost all categories due to the sharper drop in household occupancy. The most significant gains were in larger flats: living space in Executive flats grew from 32 to 36 sq m per person between the 1980s and 1990s. For 4-room flats, the space per person increased from 23 to 26 sq m and remained stable at this level into the 2000s, even as the floor area fell further. Notably, 3-room flats, despite having the smallest floor area (65 sq m in the 2000s), offered 19 sq m per person in the 2000s, up from 15 sq m in the 1980s, reflecting the impact of smaller family sizes.