The data breaks down information on family backgrounds

Almost one in four children in England and Wales now lives in a one-parent family, the latest data from the 2001 Census has revealed.

It also shows that more than 10% of children are in step-families and that at least 45,000 youngsters live in communal establishments.

The third set of data to be released from the Census further reveals that single-pensioner households now account for almost one in seven homes.

The latest information from the �200m survey was released on Wednesday morning by the Office for National Statistics.

'Workless' households

Dependent children make up 11.7m of the population in England and Wales, with the majority - 65% - still living with both natural parents.

But around 149,000 children under 18 are providing unpaid care within their family, the Census revealed.

Some are ill themselves, with 4.3% of dependent children suffering a limiting long-term illness.

The number living in "workless" households - 17.6% cent - was highest in Muslim households, where more than a third live in homes where no adult is employed.

Lone pensioners

The latest data also looks at previously released information and cross-refers it, to illustrate society in different ways.

THE STATE OF OUR CHILDREN A fifth of children in lone-parent families 91% of these families headed by mother 17.6% of children in homes with no working adult Census 2001: Key facts and figures

It shows that among elderly people more women over the age of 75 are living alone than men.

And among these lone pensioners 5,000 have neither central heating nor sole use of a bathroom.

The Census showed that single-pensioner households make up 14.4% of the total number of households in England and Wales.

Census details have already shown the UK's population to be more than 58m, a 4% increase from the 1981 count.

Of these, 5.2m people are providing unpaid care of more than 50 hours a week for a family member or friend.

Over 225,000 of these carers said they were not in good health themselves.

The highest population of carers comes in the 50-59 age group, where one in four women (24.6%) of women and 17.9% of men look after someone.

When it comes to full-time paid care work, there is a larger proportion of men, the data reveals.

Ethnic breakdown

For the first time in the Census people could describe themselves as being of "mixed ethnicity".

Some 660 people in England and Wales used this description for themselves, the largest number stating they were White and Black Caribbean.

Of the White and Black Caribbean group only 3.5% were born in the Caribbean, while 16.3% of those who listed themselves as White and Asian were born in Asia.

MINORITY COMMUNITIES Younger but poorer More unemployment More overcrowding What the census says about the UK's minorities

More than half of those in three different ethnic groups were born in England and Wales.

These were from Black Caribbean group (57.8%), Pakistani (54.4%) and the small Other Black group (78.9%). Bangladeshi (at 46.2%) and Indian (at 45.6%) came close.

Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups showed much lower employment rates than the Indian group and they also suffered from poorer health.

Welsh speaking

The Irish and Black Caribbean groups also reported poorer health than average.

There are further detailed breakdowns of the age profiles and faith elements of ethnic groups.

The Census spotlights the make-up of Wales - whose population includes 74.8% born in the country.

It also reveals that 14.7% of the population speak Welsh, with a further 1.7% of people who can converse in Welsh who do not live in Wales.

The Census has already highlighted Britain's ageing population as people aged over 60 outnumbered under-16s for the first time and the number of over-85s had increased fivefold to 1.1m since 1951.

It showed there was a minority of married couples for the first time - 45% of the population versus 64% in 1981.