"Trend unbroken"

This age group has the highest single rate

(Bild: Daniel Ernst - stock.adobe.com)

In 2024, 1.6 million people were living alone in Austria. That is 17.8 percent of the total population and 430,000 more people than 20 years earlier. "The trend towards single-person households is unbroken," emphasized Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas. 

In comparison: 20 years ago, this proportion was still at 14.6 percent. The proportion of people living in a partnership, on the other hand, "has remained almost stable at just under half of the population over the same period, although marriage has lost some of its importance compared to cohabitation," said Thomas.

Marriage has lost some of its importance compared to cohabitation.

Statistik Austria-Generaldirektor Tobias Thomas

The most common group of people living alone are women aged 65 and over
The largest group of people living alone in 2024 were people aged 65 and over (605,000 or 34.3 percent of this age group), more than two thirds of whom were women (425,000). At 318,000 people, 55 to 64-year-olds were the second largest group among those living alone (23.4% of this age group). Only 2.6 percent (or 57,000 people) under the age of 25 lived alone in a household, compared to 14.8 percent of 35 to 44-year-olds and 16.0 percent of 45 to 54-year-olds.

Almost half live in a partnership
4.4 million people lived with a partner in a household in 2024, corresponding to 49%. According to Statistics Austria, the proportion of the population living in a partnership has thus remained fairly constant overall over the past 20 years, but the proportion of people with and without a marriage certificate has shifted: while 41.8% were still living with a spouse in 2004, this proportion fell slightly to 39.1% 20 years later. In contrast, the proportion of cohabiting couples without a marriage certificate rose steadily (from 7.3% to 9.9%).

Between the ages of 35 and 54, more than 70% of the population in private households were living in a partnership in 2024; in earlier and later years of life, this proportion fell to around 50%. While a partnership without a marriage certificate is more common at a young age, "this ratio reverses in later years", according to Statistics Austria.

Statistics Austria's calculations are based on the microcensus labor force survey.