More than a million people live alone in Portugal – Economy
More than one million individuals live alone in Portugal, with single-person households representing a quarter of families in Portugal, show detailed data on family structures captured by the 2021 Census, released this Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
In a decade, and compared to previous Censuses, the number of individuals living alone in single-person households increased by 19%, now representing 24.8% of families (21.4% in 2011).
More than one million (1,027 thousand) constitute solitary families, with women — and, above all, older women — constituting the most numerous groups in this universe. In fact, 49% are retired and, of these, seven out of ten are women.
In the last decade, the number of families with a single individual from the age of 40 has also grown significantly, while at the same time there has been a sharp drop in individuals of younger age groups who live alone.
Of more than one million single-person households, there are only around 138,000 individuals with elderly people aged up to 40, down 23% compared to 2011.
JFrom 40 to 60 years old, there is an increase of 30%, for more than 276 thousand who live alone. From the age of 60, the increase is 28%, to close to 614 thousand.
INE data also show a sharp rise in the number of single-parent families, which already exceed half a million, after having increased by 22% in the last decade.
In this universe, women with at least one child under the age of 25 and without other people in the household are the most expressive group, with around 218 thousand of the country’s families. A decade ago, the number was just over 184,000. Men in the same situation number less than 35 thousand (about 26 thousand in 2011).
Even so, the majority of households in Portugal correspond to couples with children, 45.3%. Single-parent groups represent 18.5% of the total, with 36.2% of couples without children.
The average size of a Portuguese family corresponds to 2.5 people.