A record number of people are now living alone in the UK with a surge over the past decade driven entirely by a rise in over-65s residing on their own, official figures show.
In total there were 8.4 million Britons living alone in 2024 – an increase of 11 per cent from 7.6 million people in 2014 – equivalent to 12.5 per cent of all UK households.
More than half were 65 and over with an estimated 4.3 million over-65s living alone last year, up from 3.5 million a decade earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The statistics body said that ‘people aged 65 years or over accounted in full for the increase in people living alone’ while the number of people aged under 65 years living on their own remained stable.
There were an estimated 4.3 million over-65s living alone last year, up from 3.5 million a decade earlier, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (stock image)
Experts have raised the alarm over the epidemic of loneliness facing Britons, with the World Health Organisation declaring loneliness to be a pressing global health threat in 2023 (stock image)
Some 40.9 per cent of women aged 65 and over lived alone compared to 27 per cent of men of the same age. The ONS said this reflects greater life expectancies in women while data also shows that men are more likely to remarry.
Experts have raised the alarm over the epidemic of loneliness facing Britons, with the World Health Organisation declaring loneliness to be a pressing global health threat in 2023.
The figures also show that the proportion of young adults living with their parents has risen by almost 10 per cent in a decade.
Some 3.6 million people aged 20 to 34 years lived with their parents in 2024 compared to 3.3 million in 2014 – with more young adults now living with their parents at older ages.
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Young men are more likely to be at home with their parents than women, with 33.7 per cent of men aged between 20 and 34 years living in the family home, compared with 22.1 per cent of women.
The ONS said more young adults living with their parents at older ages is part of a ‘trend of adults reaching milestones later in life’ – such as getting married and having children – and may be ‘explained by a number of factors including increased housing costs’.
Alison Fernandes, a partner at Hall Brown Family Law, said the rise in the number of women aged over 65 living alone indicated how much more confident women are now than their counterparts in previous generations.
She said: ‘Some of these individuals will have been among the first to capitalise on the opportunities to develop careers on an equal footing with men as a result of sex equality legislation.
‘Having worked hard to establish a sense of financial independence, many will be wary of seeing it jeopardised.
‘That is because they know a significant proportion of marriages do not sadly last the course. In fact, some of these women may already have been divorced and not wish to experience a repeat.’
She added: ‘That contrasts greatly with men of a similar age who are far more likely to remarry after a break-up.’
