The most common household type is that of one-person households followed by households with more than two adults with no dependent children, the National Statistics Office said.

In a statement issued on the occasion of International Day of Families, being celebrated tomorrow, the NSO said that people found to be mostly at-risk-of-poverty in 2011 were those living in single parent households, with 47 per cent of persons in this category being at risk.

The at risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate for this household category (which also takes into account material deprivation and work intensity) stood at 63 per cent.

There were 4,231 births in 2012, of which just over half were boys. The majority of babies were born to parents between the ages of 30 and 34, while just over one-fourth were born outside marriage.

The NSO said that in 2011, just under 9,000 children aged up to 12 were attending pre-school for an average 27 hours per week, while 29,360 children were spending an average of 31 hours per week at compulsory school. Furthermore, 12,910 children spent an average 14 hours per week being cared for by grandparents or other relatives and friends.

The employment rate in 2012 stood at 59 per cent, with that for married people being 60 per cent. This rate varied greatly when disaggregated by sex, from 82 per cent among married men to 39 per cent among married women. A total 70 per cent of parents were employed in 2012 – 94 per cent of fathers and 50 per cent of mothers.

Over three-fourths of households had access to a computer last year, with the highest prevalence being in households with three or more adults with children, and the lowest being in those consisting of one adult without children.

The same trend was also observed with regard to the percentage of households with internet access at home.

While nearly all persons aged between 16 and 24 used both a computer and the internet, these percentages decreased steadily with age, reaching 28 and 27 per cent, respectively, among those aged 65-74.

The theme being used for International Day of Families is “Advancing Social Integration and Intergenerational Solidarity”.