In Germany, the proportion of people living alone is significantly higher than in many other European countries. In 2023, 20.3% of the German population lived in single-person households. This is well above the EU average of 16.1%. Only Estonia (21.5 percent), Denmark (23.5 percent), Sweden (24.1 percent), Lithuania (24.6 percent) and Finland (25.8 percent) have even fewer people living alone in an EU comparison.
According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the trend towards single-person households has increased in almost all EU countries. Between 2013 and 2023, the proportion of people living alone rose from 14.2% to 16.1%. Countries such as Bulgaria, Lithuania and Finland recorded the largest increases. The proportion of people living alone in Germany remained almost constant at around 20% during this period.
Older people in Europe in particular live alone. In 2023, 31.6% of over 65-year-olds in the EU lived alone. At 34.6%, Germany is slightly above average in this age group. In Lithuania, the proportion is the highest in Europe at 51%. In Slovakia, only 11.6% of over-65s lived alone in 2023, the lowest proportion of people living alone in the EU.
© immonewsfeed
