The number of households in Scotland has increased in the last year, the Registrar General announced today.
The publication of the Household Estimates for 2006 shows that there
was an increase of 20,000 households, or just under one per cent. This
takes the total households in Scotland to 2.3m, an increase mainly due
to an increase in the number of dwellings by 19,000. Also, the number
of vacant dwellings and second homes has fallen, as more of the
existing housing stock is occupied.
The report, which is used to inform local authorities on the needs
of service and housing provision, says that since 1991, Scotland's
total population has not changed greatly, but the number of households
has continued to increase by more than 12 per cent since 1991. This is
because the average household size is getting smaller, with more people
living alone and in smaller households.
No local authority area experienced a decline in the number of
households in the last year, or over the last five years, with
Aberdeenshire, West Lothian, Highland and Perth and Kinross councils
having the greatest increases since 2001.
The Registrar General for Scotland, Duncan Macniven, said: "Although
there has been little change in Scotland's population in recent years,
the number of households continues to increase because household
structures are changing. More people are living alone and in smaller
households.
“The ageing of Scotland's population is also having an effect. Older
people are more likely to live alone, or with one other person,” he
added.
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