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Occasional Paper

Household Change - Scotland in a European Setting
A Literature Review and Analysis

Changing Scotland - 30 Years of Household Change in Scotland

General Overview

Society, and the composition of its households, has changed considerably from the “traditional family” household that was the norm in the 50s and 60s. A comparison of Scotland's household composition with that of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland may cast light on these changes.

The 1971 Census in Scotland (General Register Office Scotland (GROS), 1971) made no distinction between married couples and co-habiting couples. Instead, households were classed in terms of the number of families and people, where a family was defined as:

Using this definition, in conjunction with the “1971 Census - Household Composition Tables” (GROS, 1975) and the “2001 - Scottish Social Statistics” (Scottish Executive, 2001), the following changes took place:

Census Results 19971-2001 - Changes in household structure, Scotland 

• The percentage of all households with at least 1 pensioner rose from 12% in 1971 to 15% in 2001.

• The percentage of all married/cohabiting couple with children households fell from 45% to 26%.

• The percentage of all lone-parent family households rose from 8% to 10½%.

• The percentage of all one-person households rose from 18% in 1971 to 33% in 2001.

• The percentage of married/cohabiting couples without children has fallen slightly while there was an increase in the percentage of households classed as “other” over the 30-year period.