TOP 10 Countries with Highest Share of Single-Person Households (2025)
Single-person households – homes where one adult lives alone – have become one of the most dynamic features of modern demography. In many high-income countries the share of solo-living households has climbed above 30 percent, and in a handful of societies, close to one in two homes now has just a single resident.
This ranking uses the latest comparable data from Our World in Data, national statistical offices, and the OECD / UN Economic Commission for Europe on the percentage of all private households that are one-person households. The most recent observations (generally 2018–2022) are projected forward as a snapshot for around 2025, since the relative positions of countries have changed little in recent years.
Table 1. Share of one-person households, TOP 10 countries (latest data ≈2018–2022, % of all households)
| Rank | Country | One-person households (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | 45.8 |
| 2 | Denmark | 44.1 |
| 3 | Finland | 43.0 |
| 4 | Sweden | 42.5 |
| 5 | Germany | 41.7 |
| 6 | Estonia | 40.3 |
| 7 | Netherlands | 36.0 |
| 8 | Switzerland | 35.0 |
| 9 | Lithuania | 34.5 |
| 10 | Austria | 33.5 |
Notes: Values are rounded and based on latest available observations from household surveys and population censuses (mostly 2018–2020), as compiled by Our World in Data and secondary analyses of official statistics. Rankings are interpreted as a 2025 snapshot; exact figures may have shifted slightly but relative positions remain similar.
All of the countries at the top of the ranking are high-income, highly urbanised societies. Nordic welfare states (Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden) combine strong social safety nets with cultural acceptance of living alone. Germany and Estonia also have very high shares of solo households, while the Netherlands, Switzerland, Lithuania and Austria follow close behind.
By contrast, in many lower-income countries in Africa and South Asia, fewer than 10 percent of households consist of a single person. Multi-generational families remain the norm, and housing markets often make solo living prohibitively expensive. The global picture is therefore highly uneven: solo living is rapidly expanding, but mostly from a low base outside Europe and East Asia.
Table 2. Age structure of people living alone in TOP 10 countries (young adults vs seniors, % of age group living alone)
Who actually lives alone? In most countries, the rise of single-person households is driven not only by young professionals in big cities, but also – and often more strongly – by older adults, especially widowed or divorced seniors. OECD housing indicators show that the share of people aged 65+ living alone can exceed 40–50 percent in some European countries, compared with single-digit shares among youth.
| Country | Young adults 15–34 living alone (% of age group) | Seniors 65+ living alone (% of age group) |
|---|---|---|
| Norway | 9 | 44 |
| Denmark | 10 | 43 |
| Finland | 11 | 45 |
| Sweden | 12 | 42 |
| Germany | 11 | 40 |
| Estonia | 7 | 42 |
| Netherlands | 9 | 36 |
| Switzerland | 8 | 35 |
| Lithuania | 6 | 50 |
| Austria | 7 | 37 |
Notes: Values are indicative ranges compiled from OECD affordable housing indicators, EU-SILC and national statistical offices. The table highlights the strong age gradient in solo living rather than providing exact harmonised figures for all countries.
Two stories emerge from the age structure. First, a growing minority of young adults in high-income countries are choosing (or needing) to live alone, often in dense urban areas with high housing costs but also high incomes and flexible labour markets. Second, and even more striking, is the large share of older people who age in place alone – especially widowed women, whose life expectancy tends to exceed that of men.
Why are single-person households rising?
1. Demographic ageing. As populations age and life expectancy rises, more people spend part of their later life as widowed or divorced singles. Studies for Europe show that in some countries over half of seniors live alone, particularly in the Baltic and Nordic states.
2. Urbanisation and housing markets. Big cities concentrate jobs, universities and services, making it easier to maintain an independent lifestyle. At the same time, small flats and studio apartments are often designed with solo living in mind. OECD projections suggest that by the late 2020s single-person households will account for around 40 percent or more of all households in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, England and the Netherlands.
3. Social and cultural change. Attitudes towards marriage, divorce and partnership have liberalised over recent decades. People are marrying later, cohabiting more frequently and are less likely to see partnership as a prerequisite for adulthood. In-depth sociological work notes that solo living is increasingly framed as a legitimate lifestyle choice linked to autonomy and self-realisation rather than just a transitional phase.
4. Economic independence, especially among women. Rising female education and labour-force participation mean that more women can afford to live alone, including after divorce or widowhood. This reinforces the trend in countries with strong welfare states and gender-equal labour markets, such as the Nordics.
Importantly, living alone is not the same as being lonely. Survey data from Europe indicate that Nordic countries, despite leading the world in solo households, do not have the highest levels of self-reported loneliness. Social networks, community life and digital connectivity can mitigate the risks of isolation, even as physical living arrangements shift towards smaller households.
Chart 1. Share of one-person households, TOP 10 countries (latest %)
The bar chart below ranks countries by the estimated percentage of households with a single resident, highlighting the dominance of Nordic and Western European countries in solo living.
Chart 2. Rise of single-person households, 1990–2025 (selected countries)
The line chart shows the long-term rise in solo living in Norway, Germany and Japan. All three countries have seen steady growth since 1990, with particularly rapid increases in Norway and Japan as they became older, more urban and more affluent.
Note: The time series values are illustrative, based on published trends from Our World in Data, OECD and national statistics. They are intended to capture the direction and scale of change rather than precise year-by-year figures.
Sources and further reading
Key statistical sources and analytical references used for this indicator:
- Our World in Data – Percentage of one-person households (based on UN and national censuses). Open dataset
- DePaulo, B. (2022). “Where in the World Do People Live Alone?” Psychology Today – analysis of Our World in Data figures and cross-country ranking. Read article
- “The Countries Where Solo Households Are Commonplace” (2022), Solo Living – summary of countries with the highest solo-living rates, citing Our World in Data. Read article
- OECD Affordable Housing Database, indicator HM1.4 – Living arrangements by age groups. Methodology & tables (PDF)
- OECD. The Future of Families to 2030 – projections of household structures, including one-person households in OECD countries. Publication page
- Eurofound (2019). Household composition and well-being – evidence on economic vulnerability of one-person households in the EU. Report overview
