Overview
- Statistisches Bundesamt published first results on June 24, 2026 reporting about 17.3 million people, or 20.9% of Germany’s population, lived alone in 2025.
- The number of people living alone rose 22.3% since 2005, when roughly 14.2 million people lived alone, showing steady growth over two decades.
- Older adults are most likely to live alone with 34.4% of those 65+ and 55.8% of those 85+ living solo, while young adults aged 25–34 also have a high rate at 28.7%; women live alone slightly more often than men.
- One-person households are now the largest household type at 42.1% of all households and the share of solo living is higher in cities of 100,000+ residents (25.9%) than in small municipalities (17.2%).
- The figures are based on the Mikrozensus, an annual 1% sample of private households that excludes people in collective accommodation, and Germany’s solo-living rate at about 20.9% sits above the EU average of 16.5% which may affect housing policy and local care planning.