Germany's one‑fifth population lives alone as EU single‑household share climbs

In 2023, 16.5 % of the European Union population lived in single‑person households, according to Eurostat data. Germany far exceeds the EU average, with 20.9 % of its roughly 84 million residents—about 17.3 million people—living alone, up from 14.2 million in 2005 (a 22 % rise).

The oldest age groups are the most likely to live alone: 34.4 % of those over 65 and 55.8 % of those over 85. Urban areas show higher rates, with 25.9 % of households in cities of more than 100 000 residents being single‑person, 20.6 % in towns of 20 000‑100 000, and 17.2 % in smaller municipalities.

Within the EU, the highest shares of people living alone are in Lithuania (31.4 %), Finland (25.8 %), Denmark (24.3 %), Estonia and Sweden (both 22 %). The lowest shares are in Slovakia (3 %), Ireland (8.1 %) and Poland (9.2 %). Germany’s share of single‑person households also means that 42 % of its 41.1 million households were single‑person, a proportion far above the European average.