The latest Scottish Household Survey (SHS) Annual Report, published by Scotland’s Chief Statistician, has given a breakdown of the composition, characteristics, attitudes and behaviour of Scottish households in 2011.
With regards to household composition, the survey reveals that:
- 49% of adults in Scotland are married and living with their spouse,
- 34% have never been married or in a civil partnership,
- around 5% of young adults aged 16 to 24 are married. This figure rises to 58% married and living with their spouse or in a civil partnership for adults aged between 35 and 44.
- 33% of households in Scotland contains only one person, made up of single adults (18%) and single pensioners 15%, and
- owner occupation is the predominant tenure for most household types (64% of all households), the notable exception being for single parent households (where 47% are in social rented housing) and, to a somewhat lesser extent, single adult households (35% in the social rented sector).