Single-person households rise across Latin America and Spain

Data indicates a significant demographic shift toward smaller household sizes across Latin America and parts of Spain. In Pontevedra, Spain, single-person households now account for 31.6% of all homes as of 2025, a notable increase from 22.2% in 2010. This trend is driven by both elderly residents facing unwanted solitude and younger individuals choosing to live alone. While the city's population grew by only 1.7% since 2010, the total number of households increased by nearly 24%, reflecting a move toward smaller living units.

Across Latin America, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) reports that single-person households nearly doubled between 2000 and 2024. The average household size in the region dropped from 4.3 members in 2000 to 3.3 in 2024. This transformation is attributed to population aging, declining fertility rates, and changing relationship dynamics. In Costa Rica, 18.3% of households consist of a single person. These shifts are prompting calls to revise housing, care, and social protection policies originally designed for larger, nuclear family structures.