In 1971, 8% of families had a single parent in the UK. By 1988, this had doubled to 16%. In 1994, there were 1.3 million single parents -- two thirds of them divorced. The biggest category of single parents are separated or divorced wives, 60%. The percentage of children in the UK living in single parent families increased from 8% in 1972 to 15% in 1989. In 1993 they were estimated to cost the government £66 million per week in social benefits support. Single parent families in Scotland comprised 6% of the population, but one third of the priority rehousing applications. In the USA in 1993 it was estimated that half of all children will spend some time in a single parent household. In the USA in 1992, 24% of never-married women aged between 18 and 44 were also mothers. From 1980 to 1993 the number of single fathers there doubled to 1.4 million.