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Trends in poverty rates by family type and age

PovertyHow has it changed?

This graph compares trends in poverty according to family type and age, between 1999-00 – 2015-16. It shows that, over this period, poverty rates were consistently higher for single people and sole parents than for partnered families. It also shows that poverty rates for people aged 65 and more, and for sole parents, were more variable than for other family types. The main shifts over the period are a decline in poverty among single people aged 65 and over; and a rise in poverty among partnered people, no matter their age. Poverty rates for single people fluctuated considerably more than for partnered people, especially for single people aged 65 and over, in part reflective of the closeness of single pension rates to the 50% median income poverty line.

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