According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the number of people living alone in Germany is trending upwards, with approximately 17.3 million individuals residing in single-person households in 2025. This figure represents roughly one in five people, or 20.9 percent of the population. This number reflects a significant increase over the past two decades, rising 22.3 percent compared to 2005, when only about 14.2 million people lived alone, making up 17.3 percent of the population then.
Certain demographics are particularly represented in single-person households. Among those aged 65 and older, approximately one in three people (34.4 percent) lived alone in 2025. The proportion was even higher for those aged 85 and older, reaching over half (55.8 percent). Interestingly, young adults aged 25 to 34 also showed an above-average tendency to live alone, with 28.7 percent of this group doing so. Overall, women (21.5 percent) were slightly more likely to live alone than men (20.4 percent).
The size of a community also affects the prevalence of living alone. In major cities with over 100,000 inhabitants, approximately one quarter (25.9 percent) of the population was living alone. In mid-sized communities (between 20,000 and 100,000 residents), this proportion stood at around one-fifth (20.6 percent). The lowest percentage was found in small communities under 20,000 residents, where only 17.2 percent of the population lived alone.
When compared internationally, the proportion of people living alone in Germany is significantly higher than in most other EU states. In 2025, Germany’s rate was 16.5 percent relative to the total EU population. The Eurostat statistical office noted that only five Nordic or North-Eastern European countries exceeded Germany’s rate: Lithuania (31.4 percent), Finland (25.8 percent), Denmark (24.3 percent), Estonia (22.0 percent), and Sweden (22.0 percent). Conversely, the lowest rates were recorded in Slovakia (3.0 percent), Ireland (8.1 percent), and Poland (9.2 percent).
Although single-person households constitute only about one-fifth of the population, they represent the most common housing type in Germany, accounting for over two-fifths (42.1 percent) of all households. The share of these individual households has also been increasing, rising from 36.8 percent in 2005.
