There has been little change since the late 1970s in the proportion of households containing two or more adults without dependent children.

• In 2001, 37% of households comprised two or more adults without dependent children. The same proportion was found in 1979.

• The proportion of households consisting of a married or cohabiting couple with no children of any age has remained stable from the late 1970s to 2001 at around 28%.

• The proportion of households containing two or more unrelated adults has also remained stable (3% in both 1979 and 2001).

• The proportion of households consisting of a married or cohabiting couple with non-dependent (adult) children only has varied slightly since the late 1970s but has remained consistently at 6% since the mid 1990s.

• Only 2% of households comprised lone parents with non-dependent (adult) children, which represents a slow decline from 4% in 1979.