People living alone

The bar chart illustrates the proportion of people who lived by themselves in the USA, in five different age groups (17-26, 27-36, 37-46, 47-54, and 55-64), in 1850, 1900, 1950 and 2000.

Overall, the percentage of Americans aged 55-64 who lived alone were highest in all measured years. In addition, figures for all age groups increased over the period.

The percentages of those living alone aged 37-46, 47-54, and 55-64 all followed similar trends over the measured period. There were significant increases in these figures beginning at around 2%, 2% and approximately 3% in 1850, and ending at around 7%, 13% and 17% respectively, in 2000.

Additionally, Americans aged 27-36 did not start living alone until 1900, beginning at just over 2%, and rising to around 8% in 2000. Furthermore, Americans aged 17-26 also did not start to live by themselves until around 1950, beginning at around 2% and increasing to approximately 5% in 2000.

(155 words)

 Vocabulary

• People who lived by themselves / who lived alone
• Follow similar trends
• Americans aged 17-26
• Measured years / measured period