Press release No. N057 of 29 September 2021
- Number of people of over 65 years in one-person households increased by 17% in 20 years
- 96% of those aged over 65 live in their own home, 4% live in care homes
- 55% of the people in need of long-term care are 80 years or older
WIESBADEN – In Germany, most people in old age live in their own home. It also means, however, that increasing numbers of older people live alone. To mark the International Day of Older Persons on 1 October, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that roughly 5.9 million people aged 65 or over were living alone in 2020, representing one in three people (34%) of that age group. 20 years earlier, the figure was 5.1 million. When their partner dies, many older people are left behind alone. This is the main reason why the proportion of people living alone increases with age. In 2020, considerably more than half of the people aged over 85 years (58%) were living alone. While nearly two thirds (62%) of the age group 65+ stated that they had a partner, this figure was down to just over a third (34%) in the age group 85+.
