Germany's Solo‑Household Count Rises to Over 17 Million

The Federal Statistical Office reported that 17.3 million people – 20.9 % of Germany’s population – lived alone in the past year, a rise of 22.3 % since 2005 when the figure stood at 14.2 million (17.3 %).

Solo living is most common among older adults: 34.4 % of those aged 65 + and 55.8 % of those 85 + live alone. Among younger adults, 28.7 % of 25‑ to 34‑year‑olds are single‑household residents. Women are slightly more likely to live alone (21.5 %) than men (20.4 %).

The share of solo households rises with settlement size – about a quarter of residents in cities of 100 000 + inhabitants live alone, versus roughly one‑fifth in towns of 20 000‑100 000 and 17.2 % in communities under 20 000. Germany’s solo‑household proportion (20.9 %) exceeds the EU average of 16.5 %.