The pattern and structure of one-person households in England and Wales and France

Increasing numbers of one-person households are an important feature of European population geography. This paper examines the increase of one-person households during the 1980s in England and Wales and France set within the broader context of household change in Europe as a whole. The sources used are national censuses and, for England and Wales, the Samples of Anonymised Records and the ONS Longitudinal Study. One-person households vary geographically by age, with younger one-person households found especially in larger urban areas; older one-person households have a more varied distribution, although rural and traditional retirement areas have particular concentrations. Increases in numbers are a result of both compositional changes in the population (increasing numbers of divorced and never-marrieds as well as increasing numbers of elderly) and also an increasing propensity to live alone, especially among younger age groups. While more younger men than women live alone, the latter are catching up. In general, living alone is associated with higher social class, especially for women, who show much larger social class contrasts with all women than do the living-alone men with all men. Traditionally, privately-rented accommodation has been the most important tenure arrangement of one-person households, but has been replaced by owner occupation. The study adds to our understanding of the changing nature of living alone and emphasises its geographical significance; there are variations within each country and while there are many similarities between the two countries, they also continue to show contrasts.