Technical Division - United Nations Population Fund

Household Structure and Older

Persons

Working Paper No. 3

March 2020

Technical Division

Working Paper Series

Population and Development Branch

2

Sainan Zhang

Technical Specialist, UNFPA Population and Development Branch

Sandile Simelane

Technical Specialist, UNFPA Population and Development Branch

Tapiwa Jhamba

Senior Advisor, UNFPA Population and Development Branch

Rachel Snow

Chief, UNFPA Population and Development Branch

3

Key messages

1. Analyses of harmonized census data from 76 countries show that household structures changed

in all regions of the world between 1960 and 2015. Proportions of single-person households

have increased while average household sizes have declined, albeit at different rates.

2. Among the countries analyzed:

a. Countries in Europe and North America experienced the most rapid increases in the

proportion of single-person households and hence the fastest household structure

change.

b. Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean also experienced significant and

widespread changes in the proportion of single-person households, but not at the levels

observed in Europe and North America.

c. As regions, Africa and Asia have thus far not experienced substantial changes in

household structure, but some countries have seen shifts similar to those in Europe and

North America.

3. The analysis presented here is crucial for supporting policy responses to the needs of older

persons, including the special attention they currently require in the context of the COVID-19

crisis, as they are disproportionately more likely to be infected and die from the disease than

younger persons.

4. The rise in the proportion of single-person households in countries has occurred alongside

growing proportions of single-person households among older persons in Europe, North

America, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

5. Due to longer life expectancies among women, it is normal to find more females than males at

advanced ages. Sex ratios among older persons living alone, however, suggest that older

women are disproportionately more likely to live alone for reasons beyond sex differentials in

longevity. This is the case in all regions of the world.

6. The predictors of living alone at older ages include: the number of children ever born, child

survival, age at marriage, and the proportion of people aged 60 years and above in the total

population.

7. Older persons may live alone out of choice. If they do so involuntarily, however, they may be

vulnerable and require targeted social protection.

4

1. Introduction

This booklet explores the life circumstances of older persons (aged 60 years and above), focusing

on those who live alone, in the context of changing household structures in 76 countries from all

regions of the world. The analysis is based on harmonized international census data obtained from

the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) at the University of Minnesota. The analysis

presented here is crucial for supporting policy responses to the needs of older persons, including

the special attention they require during the current COVID-19 crisis, as they are

disproportionately more likely to be infected and die from COVID-19 related complications than

younger persons. It also supports the operationalization of the Madrid International Plan of Action

on Ageing (MIPAA) (United Nations, 2002) and the realization of United Nations Principles for

Older Persons (United Nations, 1991), and within the broader framework of the Programme of

Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD-POA).

The focus on older persons is due to all regions of the world experiencing population ageing,

albeit at different rates. Globally, projections show that the proportion of older persons aged 60

and above will increase from 13.5% to 21.4% between in 2020 and 2050. Regionally, Latin

America and the Caribbean and Asia and will experience the fastest growth in the proportion of

older persons, from 13% to 24.9% and 13.1% to 24.1%, respectively. Africa will experience

slowest growth, from 5.5% to 8.7% whilst in North America and Europe the proportions of older

persons will increase from 23.1% to 28.5% and 25.7% to 35.0%, respectively. 1

Older people living alone receive special attention in this booklet because they can require

targeted social and policy support (United Nations, 2005). “Older persons that live alone are more

likely to need outside assistance in the case of illness or disability, are at greater risk of social

isolation and, even in countries with well-developed systems of social security, are

disproportionately likely—especially older women—to be poor” (ibid., p. 16).

Alongside global population ageing, other megatrends include changing household

structures, urbanization, globalization, increasing incomes and rising education levels, all which

are reshaping the contexts in which older persons live (United Nations, 2017), and the amount and

nature of the support they enjoy.

Household structures and relationships within households have become increasingly

important for policy analysis because they have implications for support and welfare (Mberu,

2007). The United Nations defines a household as “a group of persons who make common

provision of food, shelter and other essentials for living” (United Nations Population Division,

2017). A household is, therefore, a fundamental socio-economic unit in human societies. While

there are critiques of this definition (see Kriel and others, 2014, and Randall and others, 2015, for

example), this “housekeeping” conceptualization of a household is widely used in censuses (United

Nations, n.d.) and international large-scale household surveys such as the Demographic and Health

Survey. This makes it crucial to situate analyses of socioeconomic, demographic and cultural

phenomena in the context of the household. Further, the household is the nucleus of demographic,

1 See World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision for more details (United Nations

Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2019).

5

socioeconomic and cultural processes, where decisions are made about childbearing, division of

labour, education, labour force participation, migration, health care, child-rearing, and the teaching

of core values and norms.

The same processes in turn shape the structure of households. The combination of fertility,

mortality, nuptiality, and migration levels and trends, for example, affect the age structure of a

population, and can define household structure, composition and size (Jamba and Mmatli, 2016,

and Bongaarts, 2010). Cultural factors also determine the structure and composition of households,

including the formation of new ones, within the context of life-course events such as marriage,

divorce, widowhood, orphanhood, employment, etc. (Dommaraju and Tan, 2014).

The rest of this booklet is organized as follows. Section 2 presents a brief overview of

concepts used to define household structures. It provides evidence of changing household

structures across the world. Section 3 examines trends in the living arrangements of older people.

Section 4 examines the sociodemographic characteristics of older persons who live alone and some

of the correlating major socioeconomic characteristics. Section 5 offers brief conclusions. The

analysis presented here is crucial for supporting policy responses to ageing, including under the

Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (United Nations, 2002) and the United Nations

Principles for Older Persons (United Nations, 1991), and within the broader framework of the

ICPD-POA.

6

2. Changing Household Structure

Defining household structure – overview of concepts

The widely used typology of household structure characterizes families by type. This is not

surprising because families and households are separate but related entities that describe how a

population is organized within communities. Multiple criteria to define household structure

include the relationships of household members to the head of household, characteristics of the

household head (child-headed households, grandparent-headed households and female-headed

households, for example); household size (single-person and multi-person households); or simply

type of family household (non-family and family household).

The demographic transition theory postulates that, as a corollary to birth and death rates

moving from higher to lower levels as societies modernize, populations also experience a shift

from predominantly complex extended-family households to simpler nuclear and conjugal ones

(Lesthaeghe, 2014). The latter are characterized by smaller household sizes and married couples

living with their children, with fertility levels at around replacement level. This transition has been

observed in most parts of Europe and North America. Since the 1970s, many countries in these

two regions have, however, progressed to below replacement fertility. They have seen an

emergence of new and diverse household structures that are not tied to familial or conjugal

relationships, a disconnection between marriage and child bearing, and increasing proportions of

one-person as well as single-parent households. This has been described as the second

demographic transition.

Evidence of changing household structures

Figures 1 and 2 show evidence of a worldwide transition in household structure. The

figures map regional trends in the proportion of single-person households and households with

three or more people.

Figure 1 shows rapid increases in the proportion of single-person households in Europe

and North America. Between 1960 and 2010, the share surpassed 20 per cent for a majority of

countries analysed. The data also show considerable and widespread, but not as pronounced,

increases in Latin America and the Caribbean between 1960 and 2015, albeit starting at lower

levels. In most Latin American and Caribbean countries analysed, the proportion of single-person

households was between 10 per cent and 20 per cent by 2010.

Country-specific analyses show that in Europe, nations experiencing the fastest growth in

the proportion of single-person households included Hungary (the proportion more than tripled

between 1970 and 2010), Poland (the proportion more than doubled between 1980 and 2010) and

Switzerland (the proportion nearly doubled between 1970 and 2010). Figure A-2 in the annex

presents all countries in Europe and North America included in the analysis that have experienced

sustained and rapid increases in the proportion of single-person households since the 1960s.

7

Most African and Asian countries analyzed did not experience such rapid increases.

Exceptions are Botswana and South Africa (Africa) and Israel (Asia), which have reached levels

comparable to those in some countries in Europe and North America.

Figure 1. Regional trends in the proportion (percentage) of single-person households based on

76 countries with available data, 1960-2015

Note: Each dot represents a country at a point in time. The dots are colour coded by region. The trend lines – also

colour coded by region – represent unweighted regional averages of the proportions of the two types of households at

a point in time, calculated using available data for the countries included in the analysis.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Per

cen

tage

Africa Asia Europe Latin America and the Caribbean North America

8

Figure 2 shows general declines in the proportion of large households (with three persons

and above) in all regions between 1960 and 2010. Declines are again more pronounced in Europe

and North America, and not so much in Asia and Africa. This could indicate an incomplete fertility

transition and the preponderance of extended-family households in the latter.

Figure 2. Regional trends in the proportion (percentage) of households with three persons and

above based on 76 countries with available data, 1960-2015

Note: Each dot represents a country at a point in time. The dots are colour coded by region. The trend lines – also

colour coded by region – represent unweighted regional averages of the proportions of the two types of households at

a point in time, calculated using available data for the countries included in the analysis.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Per

cen

tage

Africa Asia Europe Latin America and the Caribbean North America

9

3. Living Arrangements of Older Persons

Alongside the overall increase in the proportion of single-person households between 1960 and

2010, there was a corresponding rise in the share of older single-person households in Europe,

Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America (Figure 3).

In Africa and Asia, the proportion did not change, remaining below 5 per cent for most

countries included in the analysis. Israel is an exception in Asia, having experienced an increase

from about 5 per cent in the 1970s to 10 per cent in the mid-1990s.

Figure 3. Trend in the proportion (percentage) of older single-person households (aged 60-plus)

in 76 countries with available data, 1960-2015

Note: Each dot represents a country at a point in time. The dots are colour coded by region. The trend lines – also

colour coded by region – represent unweighted regional averages of the proportions of the two types of households at

a point in time, calculated using available data for the countries included in the analysis.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Per

cen

tage

Africa Asia Europe Latin America and the Caribbean North America

10

Figure 4 shows that in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, older persons

predominantly live in households made up of three or more members, regardless of age group (60

to 69 years, 70 to 79 years, or 80 years and above). This reflects a high preponderance of extended

family households in these regions.

In North America and Europe, on the other hand, older persons are more likely to live in

two-person households (most likely with their spouses). In both regions, the proportion of older

persons living in single person households is significant, ranging from about 2 in every 10 older

persons (18 per cent) in the age group from 60 to 69 years, to nearly 4 in every 10 older persons

(43 per cent) among older persons aged 80 years and above.

Figure 4. Percentage distribution of older persons by age group, region and type of household,

2000-2015

Figure 5 reveals significant variation in the proportion of older persons living alone across

countries within regions.

The variation is widest in Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean. Among people

aged 80 years and above, for example, the proportion ranges from a low of 30 per cent in Spain to

a high of 61 per cent in Poland (Europe), and from a low of 7 per cent in Nicaragua to a high of

32 per cent in Uruguay (Latin America and the Caribbean). See also Figure A-1 in the annex.

The regional cross-sectional aggregates of the distribution of older persons living alone by

age group (Figure 4) hide country-level variations in the likelihood of living alone by age cohort.

Figure 6 shows that in Europe and North America, the proportion of older persons living alone

more than doubles as people progress from their 60s to their 80s.

9 12 146 9 10

1829

43

11 15 17 1925

4116

18 1625 24 17

48

49

37

2832 28

5757

4275 69 70 69 6773

3423 21

6154 55

24 18 17

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

60

-69

70

-79

80

+

60

-69

70

-79

80

+

60

-69

70

-79

80

+

60

-69

70

-79

80

+

60

-69

70

-79

80

+

Africa Asia Europe Latin America and theCaribbean

North America

Per

cen

tage

Alone Two-person household Household with three or more people

11

Figure 5. Percentage distribution of older persons living alone, countries with available data

after the year 2000

12

0

20

40

60

80

100

0

20

40

60

80

100

0

20

40

60

80

100

0

20

40

60

80

100

0

20

40

60

80

100

0

20

40

60

80

100

0

20

40

60

80

100

0

20

40

60

80

100

0

20

40

60

80

100

0

20

40

60

80

100

1980s(Age50-59)

1990s(Age60-69)

2000s(Age70-79)

2010s(Age80+)

0

20

40

60

80

100

1980s(Age50-59)

1990s(Age60-69)

2000s(Age70-79)

2010s(Age80+)

0

20

40

60

80

100

1980s(Age50-59)

1990s(Age60-69)

2000s(Age70-79)

2010s(Age80+)

Euro

pe

an

d N

ort

h

Am

eri

ca

Lati

n A

me

rica

an

d

the

Car

ibb

ean

A

fric

a

Asi

a

Note: Each line represents a country.

Percentage living alone Percentage living in two-person

households

Percentage living in households with three or more people

Figure 6. Age-specific trends in the living arrangements of older persons by type of household and region, 1980-2010

13

With whom do older persons live?

Among older persons who do not live alone, most Asians live with their children: 52 per cent live

with one child, 15 per cent live with two or more children, and 32 per cent live with people other

than their own children (Figure 7). Older women in Asia are most likely to live with their children.

Seven in every 10 women aged 60 years and above live with one or more own children in the

region. In contrast, North American women are the least likely to live with their children; only 30

per cent do so. Among men, co-residence with own children is highest in Africa, where 71% men

aged 60 years and above live with their children, and lowest in North America where only 21% do

so. Further sex disaggregation shows that in all regions, except Africa, women are more likely to

live with their children than men. Patterns of living arrangements among older persons are likely

associated with socioeconomic factors such as traditionalism, culture and attitudes towards older

persons.

Figure 7. Status of older persons aged 60 years-plus living with their children, disaggregated by

sex, among those who do not live alone, based on countries with data available after 2000

35 4129 32 29 36

67 65 69

40 38 42

74 7078

26

35

20

52 59 45

26 29 23

39 43 34

22 2617

3924

51

15 1120

7 6 821 19 24

4 4 4

0102030405060708090

100

Bo

th S

ex

Fem

ale

Mal

e

Bo

th S

ex

Fem

ale

Mal

e

Bo

th S

ex

Fem

ale

Mal

e

Bo

th S

ex

Fem

ale

Mal

e

Bo

th S

ex

Fem

ale

Mal

eAfrica Asia Europe Latin America and the

CarribeanNorth America

Per

cen

tage

Not living with children Living with one child Living with two-plus children

14

4. Characteristics of Older People Living Alone

Older women are more likely to be single-person householders than older men. Worldwide, 17 per

cent of women aged 60 years and above live alone, compared to only 9 per cent of men of the same

age (Figure 8).

The sex differential in the likelihood of older people living alone cuts across all regions,

but the gap is widest in Africa and Europe. In both regions, the proportion of older women living

alone is more than double the share of older men.

Figure 8. Percentage distribution of older persons aged 60 -plus living alone by sex, by region,

2000-2015

97

5

15

11

1717

15

9

34

14

31

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

World Africa Asia Europe Latin America andthe Caribbean

North America

Per

cen

tage

Male Female

15

Figure 9 shows that while there are normally more females than males at older ages, given

that women tend to live longer, older women are more likely to live alone for reasons that go

beyond longevity.

In Asia, for example, among older people living alone, for every 100 females aged 60 to

69, 70 to 79 and 80-plus, there are 61, 48 and 42 males, respectively. These sex ratios are

significantly different from those observed for the general population of older people, where per

100 females aged 60 to 69, 70 to 79 and 80-plus, there are 99, 91 and 74 males. Among African

countries included in the analysis, older men live alone at roughly half the rate of older women.

For Europe and North America, male-female sex ratios among older persons living alone decrease

rapidly as age increases.

Figure 9. Sex ratios among all older persons in the population and among older persons living

alone, by region, 2000-2015

87

79

68

9991

74

86

71

50

89

79

60

91

83

5853 50

41

61

4842

68

44

31

79

57

46

63

42

30

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

60-69

70-79

80+ 60-69

70-79

80+ 60-69

70-79

80+ 60-69

70-79

80+ 60-69

70-79

80+

Africa Asia Europe Latin America and theCaribbean

North America

Sex

Rat

io (

mal

e/fe

mal

e*1

00

)

All older persons Living alone

16

Analysis of data from a few countries with censuses after 2000 show that while the

proportion of older persons living alone is low in Africa and Asia compared to other world regions,

older people are more likely to live alone in rural areas than in urban ones (Figure 10).

Figure 10. Proportion of older persons living alone by place of residence, countries with

available data after the year 2000

Notes:

The size of the bubbles reflects the relative size of older persons aged 60 and above in each country.

Rural/urban ratio above 1 means more than 50% of older persons living alone are in rural areas and vice

versa

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Rat

io o

f ru

ral p

erce

nta

ge o

f o

lder

per

son

s liv

ing

alo

ne

tou

rban

per

cen

tage

old

er p

erso

ns

livin

g al

on

e

Percentage of older persons living alone

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

North America

Rural>Urban

Rural<Urban

17

Older persons who live alone are more likely to be either divorced (particularly in North

America) or widowed (particularly in Asia), as shown in Figure 11. This pattern is true for all

regions and both sexes except older males in Europe, who are more likely to live alone even when

married. Among them, 48 per cent are married. Never-married people account for the smallest

share of older persons living alone. Never-married males in Latin America and Caribbean are a

relatively higher proportion (22 per cent) of older males who live alone, compared to other regions.

Figure 11. Percentage distribution of older persons aged 60-plus by current marital status, living

arrangement and region, 2000-2015

3 5 2 1 1 1 3 4 3 6 8 5 3 3 2

70

46

90

7056

84 7968

90

6450

8279

70

87

3

4

2

1

1

1 3

3

2

7

9

58

9

624

44

6

2943

14 1525

5

2233

9 1117

4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Bo

th s

exes

Fem

ale

Mal

e

Bo

th s

exes

Fem

ale

Mal

e

Bo

th s

exes

Fem

ale

Mal

e

Bo

th s

exes

Fem

ale

Mal

e

Bo

th s

exes

Fem

ale

Mal

e

Africa Asia Europe Latin America and theCarribean

North America

Per

cen

tage

Not living alone

Never married Married Divorced Widowed

145

12 92

17 15 1123 20 14

2210 9

18

20

9

23

13

7

156

3

12 13

3

10

3 2

5

18

9

23

4

2

615

10

2029

19

36

3129

43

48

78

43

73

89

62 6475

4538

64

33

56 60

34

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Bo

th s

exes

Fem

ale

Mal

e

Bo

th s

exes

Fem

ale

Mal

e

Bo

th s

exes

Fem

ale

Mal

e

Bo

th s

exes

Fem

ale

Mal

e

Bo

th s

exes

Fem

ale

Mal

e

Africa Asia Europe Latin America and theCarribean

North America

Per

cen

tage

Living alone

Never married Married Divorced Widowed

18

Figure 12 generally shows no change in the proportion of divorced older persons living

alone in Africa and Asia between the 1990 and 2010 censuses, based on countries included in the

analysis. In Africa, the exceptions are Cameroon, Rwanda, Uganda, the United Republic of

Tanzania and Zambia, where the proportion decreased. In Mozambique and South Africa, it

increased. Exceptions in Asia include Armenia, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand, where the

proportion declined.

There was a general increase in the proportion of divorced older persons living alone in

Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America.

Figure 12. Comparison of earlier and more recent data on the percentage of divorcees among

older persons living alone

Note: The graph compares two data points based on the 1990 and 2010 census rounds.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Bo

tsw

ana

Bu

rkin

a Fa

soC

amer

oo

nEg

ypt

Eth

iop

iaG

han

aG

uin

ea

Ke

nya

Lib

eri

aM

alaw

iM

ali

Mo

rocc

oM

oza

mb

iqu

eN

iger

iaR

wan

da

Sou

th A

fric

aTa

nza

nia

Uga

nd

aZa

mb

ia

Arm

enia

Ban

glad

esh

Cam

bo

dia

Ch

ina

Ind

iaIn

do

nes

iaIr

anIs

rael

Kyr

gyz

Rep

ub

licM

alay

sia

Mo

ngo

liaP

akis

tan

Pal

esti

ne

Ph

ilip

pin

esTh

aila

nd

Turk

eyV

ietn

am

Bel

aru

sFr

ance

Gre

ece

Hu

nga

ryIr

elan

dP

ola

nd

Po

rtu

gal

Ro

man

iaSp

ain

Swit

zerl

and

Arg

enti

na

Bo

livia

Bra

zil

Ch

ileC

olo

mb

iaC

ost

a R

ica

Do

min

ican

Rep

ub

licEc

uad

or

El S

alva

do

rH

aiti

Jam

aica

Me

xico

Nic

arag

ua

Pan

ama

Par

agu

ayP

eru

Pu

erto

Ric

oTr

inid

ad a

nd

To

bag

oU

rugu

ayV

en

ezu

ela

Can

ada

Un

ited

Sta

tes

Africa Asia Europe Latin America and the Carribean North America

Per

cen

tage

1990 round of census 2000 round of census

19

Figure 13. Percentage distribution of older women aged 60-plus who live alone, who had or did

not have children, selected countries

3

3

3

7

12

13

16

16

17

18

21

22

23

25

12

20

21

21

27

31

42

46

21

48

49

53

56

58

60

62

62

65

13

15

17

18

18

20

21

21

22

22

24

24

26

27

27

28

29

36

45

49

3

1

3

9

9

9

8

14

10

13

18

10

13

5

5

6

19

11

14

12

13

12

11

24

22

25

25

29

37

36

37

36

5

6

8

9

7

11

8

9

10

12

12

12

14

15

11

12

10

19

26

33

0 50 100 150

Sierra Leone 2004Senegal 2002

Burkina Faso 2006Ghana 2010

Zambia 2010Cameroon 2005Botswana 2011

Kenya 2009Tanzania 2012

Malawi 2008Nigeria 2007

Rwanda 2002Ethiopia 2007

Morocco 2004

Cambodia 2008Thailand 2000

Iran 2006Turkey 2000

Indonesia 2010Kyrgyz Republic 2009

Palestine 2007Armenia 2011

Turkey 2000Greece 2011Ireland 2011

Slovenia 2002Romania 2011Ukraine 2001

Switzerland 2000Austria 2001

Hungary 2011Belarus 2009

Nicaragua 2005Venezuela 2001Colombia 2005

El Salvador 2007Paraguay 2002

Jamaica 2001Haiti 2003

Panama 2010Dominican Republic 2010

Ecuador 2010Costa Rica 2011

Mexico 2015Brazil 2010

Bolivia 2001Chile 2002

Trinidad and Tobago 2000Peru 2007

Argentina 2001Uruguay 2011

United States 1990

Afr

ica

Asi

aEu

rop

eLa

tin

Am

eric

a an

d t

he

Car

ibb

ean

No

rth

Am

eric

a

Had no children born Had children born

In all regions of the world,

the proportion of older

women living alone is

higher among those who

never had children

compared to those who

have children.

Note: the bars do not add up to

100 because they do not

represent the same universe of

women. The green bars show

percentages among women who

have no children and the grey

bars percentages among women

who have children.

20

Figure 14. Percentage distribution of older women aged 60-plus who live alone by survival status

of children, countries with available data

3

4

4

10

12

14

15

15

15

18

21

26

14

18

21

24

34

34

42

44

46

47

63

13

15

15

16

19

20

20

21

21

22

26

27

28

31

31

31

51

1

2

2

9

7

8

8

9

9

11

12

13

4

11

6

5

13

12

13

22

12

18

34

11

7

5

9

10

9

6

7

12

10

12

11

8

14

14

11

26

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Senegal 2002

Sierra Leone 2004

Burkina Faso 2006

Ghana 2010

Botswana 2011

Zambia 2010

Cameroon 2005

Tanzania 2012

Rwanda 2002

Malawi 2008

Ethiopia 2007

Nigeria 2007

China 1990

Turkey 2000

Thailand 2000

Cambodia 2008

Indonesia 2010

Kyrgyz Republic 2009

Palestine 2007

Iran 2011

Armenia 2011

Greece 1991

Belarus 1999

Jamaica 2001

Paraguay 2002

Nicaragua 2005

Panama 2010

Dominican Republic 2010

El Salvador 2007

Venezuela 2001

Haiti 2003

Costa Rica 2011

Peru 2007

Ecuador 2010

Mexico 2015

Colombia 2005

Bolivia 2001

Brazil 2010

Chile 2002

Uruguay 2011

Afr

ica

Asi

aEu

rop

eLa

tin

Am

eric

a an

d t

he

Car

ibb

ean

No Children surviving Children surviving

In all regions of the

world, older women

who do not have

surviving children

(among women who

had children) are

more likely to live

alone compared to

those who have

surviving children.

Note: the bars do not add

up to 100 because they do

not represent the same

universe of women. The

red bars show percentages

among women who have

no children surviving and

the grey bars percentages

among women who have

children surviving.

21

Figure 15. Percentage distribution of older women aged 60-plus who live alone by age at their

first marriage, countries with available data

Among countries that have collected data on age at first marriage, early marriage (before

age 20) is associated with a higher likelihood of living alone at older ages among older women in

Asia and Europe. In Africa, late marriage is associated with a higher likelihood of living alone

(Figure 15). Annex Figure A-3 presents data for Indonesia, and compares, by age at first marriage,

the age-specific distribution of older women who live alone and who co-reside with other people.

The graph shows that proportionately more women who married before age 18 are found among

older women living alone, compared to those not living alone. Further research is needed to unravel

the underlying causes for the relationship between age at marriage and living arrangements in old

age, across regions.

Table 1 shows that even after controlling for parity (i.e. number of children ever born),

women who married before age 18 are generally more likely to live alone after age 60 compared

to women who married at the ages of 18 to 24, 25 to 34 and 35 years and above, in all regions

except Africa, and regardless of the number of children they have.

The combination of early marriage and childlessness increases the likelihood that women

will live alone in older ages.

1112

10

57

119 10 10

1715

13 14

18

3

13

4 4

7

28

1 0

31

1110

20

35

14

27

19

4

8

13

10 9 912 11 11 11

12

2

75

4 5

21

1 0

4

1

118

21

33

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35M

alaw

i 20

08

Nig

eria

20

06

Nig

eria

20

07

Sou

th S

ud

an 2

008

Sud

an 2

008

Zam

bia

199

0

Zam

bia

201

0

Ch

ina

20

00

Pal

esti

ne

199

7

Pal

esti

ne

200

7

Ind

on

esia

19

76

Ind

on

esia

19

80

Ind

on

esia

19

90

Ind

on

esia

20

05

Iraq

19

97

Mal

aysi

a 19

80

Pak

ista

n 1

97

3

Ph

ilip

pin

es 1

99

0

Thai

lan

d 1

98

0

Gre

ece

20

01

Ro

man

ia 1

992

Ro

man

ia 2

002

Ro

man

ia 2

011

Arg

enti

na

20

01

Bra

zil 1

99

1

Mex

ico

199

5

Un

ite

d S

tate

s 1

96

0

Un

ite

d S

tate

s 1

98

0

Africa Asia Europe Latin America andthe Caribbean

North America

Per

cen

tage

Married before age 18 Married at age 18 and above

22

Table 1. Percentage distribution of women who live alone by age at marriage and number of

children ever born, countries with available data

No children One to two children Three children and more

Age at first marriage <17 18-24 25-34 35+ <17 18-24 25-34 35+ <17 18-24 25-34 35+

Africa

Nigeria 2006 46 68 16 54 9 26 19 17 9 37 37 18

Malawi 2008 19 18 20 19 20 18 20 21 10 13 15 15

Zambia 1990 18 28 33 7 14 12 12 12 9 9 7 6

Zambia 2010 9 13 13 5 11 11 7 9 9 9 8 5

Asia

State of Palestine 2007 60 33 50 40 34 33 22 12 15 10 7 12

Thailand 1980 44 22 18 22 12 7 6 4 6 6 4 3

State of Palestine 1997 38 30 32 29 27 16 25 6 9 8 6 5

Indonesia 1980 30 29 23 22 13 11 7 4 12 9 7 9

Indonesia 1990 29 29 19 17 14 12 7 10 13 9 6 3

Indonesia 1976 28 29 26 19 17 14 19 9 14 11 9 9

Malaysia 1980 19 14 24 29 16 9 6 6 12 6 3 8

Pakistan 1973 19 20 23 3 6 7 8 8 4 4 3 4

Iraq 1997 12 10 9 8 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1

Europe

Greece 2001 51 43 28 6 28 28 5 2 28 24 6 3

Romania 2011 6 5 6 7 3 4 5 6 3 3 4 4

Romania 1992 2 2 1 4 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 4

Romania 2002 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Latin America and the

Caribbean

Brazil 1991 22 22 21 24 17 14 10 12 10 8 6 11

Argentina 2001 2 1 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1

North America

United States 1980 45 42 40 40 37 34 32 30 33 31 26 25

United States 1960 28 28 27 26 22 22 21 20 19 18 17 17

23

5. Conclusion

Population ageing is a global phenomenon. Shares of persons aged 60 and above are increasing in

countries in all regions, albeit at different rates. Alongside age structure changes, all regions are

also experiencing household structure changes. More people are living alone, and household sizes

are shrinking.

The proportion of older single-person households has climbed in Europe, Latin America

and the Caribbean, and North America. The predictors of living alone in old age include age at

marriage, the number of children ever born, child survival, current marital status and the share of

people aged 60 years and above in the total population.

Although based on relatively dated data, the analysis presented here is crucial for

supporting policy responses to the needs of older persons, including the special attention they

require during the current COVID-19 crisis, as they are disproportionately more likely to be

infected, and die from, COVID-19 related complications than younger persons. The greater

vulnerability of older persons to the disease is related to their fragile health and suppressed immune

system, on the one hand, and their living arrangements on the other. Available data show that

countries and regions within countries where the number of older persons is high are high-risk

areas for COVID-19 cases and fatalities, and should be among the regions that receive priority in

crisis response. Older persons that live alone may not receive the support they need especially if

they get ill; living in institutional care facilities they might get necessary care, but they also face a

higher risk of falling ill. However, in the case of COVID-19, living with or in proximity to children

and younger adults also poses health risks to older persons, as COVID-19 is less likely to show

symptoms in children and younger adults.

The analysis presented in this booklet also supports the operationalization of the Madrid

International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) (United Nations, 2002) and the realization of

United Nations Principles for Older Persons (United Nations, 1991), and within the broader

framework of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and

Development (ICPA-POA).

This booklet does not in any way suggest that lack of co-residence among older members

of society is bad or automatically translates to a lack of support or care. While it is possible that a

substantial proportion of older single-person households may be vulnerable, and therefore require

some form of targeted social protection and support, especially in the context of COVID-19 as

shown above. It is also possible that many older people live on their own out of choice. They may

enjoy supportive interactions with family members even if they do not co-reside with them. In this

light, the overall aim was not to portray living alone among older persons as an undesirable

outcome, but to show the changing life circumstances and characteristics of older single-person

householders as an increasingly important demographic group everywhere in the world.

24

Annex

25

Figure A-1. Percentage of older persons living alone by age, countries with available data after

2000

26

Figure A-2. Countries in Europe and North America with consistent increases in the proportion

of single-person households, 1960 to 2010

Figure A-3. Distribution (percentage) of women aged 60-plus by age at first marriage among

those living alone and not living alone, Indonesia, 2005

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Austria Belarus France Greece Hungary Ireland Poland Portugal Romania Spain Switzerland United States

Per

cen

tage

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

<=10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42

Pec

ent

Age at first marriage

Living Alone Not Living Alone

27

Table A-1. Data list by country and years

Country

Years (IPUMS data)

2020 (2015-

2024)

2010

(2005-2014)

2000

(1995-2004)

1990

(1985-1994)

1980 (1975-

1984)

1970 (1965-

1974)

1960

(1955-1964)

Argentina 2010 2001 1991 1980 1970

Armenia 2011 2001

Austria 2011 2001 1991 1981 1971

Bangladesh 2011 2001 1991

Belarus 2009 1999

Bolivia 2001 1992 1976

Botswana 2011 2001 1991 1981

Brazil 2010 2000 1991 1980 1970 1960

Burkina Faso 2006 1996 1985

Cambodia 2008 1998

Cameroon 2005 1987 1976

Canada 2011 2001 1991 1981 1971

Chile 2002 1992 1982 1970 1960

China 2000 1990 1982

Colombia 2005 1993 1985 1973 1964

Costa Rica 2011 2000 1984; 1973 1963

Cuba 2002 Dominican Republic 2010 2002 1981 1970 1960

Ecuador 2010 2001 1990 1982 1974 1962

Egypt 2006 1996 1986

El Salvador 2007 1992

Ethiopia 2007 1994 1984

Fiji 2007 1996 1986 1976 1966

France 2011; 2006 1999 1990 1982 1975 1968; 1962

Germany 1987 1981 1971 1970

Ghana 2010 2000 1984

Greece 2011 2001 1991 1981 1971

Guinea 1996 1983

Haiti 2003 1982 1971

Hungary 2011 2001 1990 1980 1970

India 2009 2004; 1999 1993; 1987 1983

Indonesia 2010; 2005 2000; 1995 1990; 1985 1980; 1976 1971

Iran 2011 2006

Iraq 1997

Ireland 2011; 2006 2002; 1996 1991; 1986 1981; 1979 1971

Israel 1995 1983 1972

Italy 2001

Jamaica 2001 1991 1982

Jordan 2004

Kenya 2009 1999 1989 1979 1969

28

Kyrgyz Republic 2009 1999

Liberia 2008 1974

Malawi 2008 1998 1987

Malaysia 2000 1991 1980 1970

Mali 2009 1998 1987

Mexico 2015 2010; 2005 2000; 1995 1990 1970 1960

Mongolia 2000 1989

Morocco 2004 1994 1982

Mozambique 2007 1997

Netherlands 2001 1971 1960

Nicaragua 2005 1995 1971

Nigeria

2010; 2009; 2008; 2007;

2006

Pakistan 1998 1981 1973

Palestine 2007 1997

Panama 2010 2000 1990 1980 1970 1960

Paraguay 2002 1992 1982 1972 1962

Peru 2007 1993

Philippines 2000; 1995 1990

Poland 2011 2002 1988 1978

Portugal 2011 2001 1991 1981

Puerto Rico 2010; 2005 2000 1990 1980 1970

Romania 2011 2002 1992 1977

Rwanda 2002 1991

Saint Lucia 1991 1980

Senegal 2002 1988

Sierra Leone 2004

Slovenia 2002

South Africa 2011 2007; 2001 1996

South Sudan 2008

Spain 2011 2001 1991 1981

Sudan 2008

Switzerland 2000 1990 1980 1970

Tanzania 2012 2002 1988

Thailand 2000 1990 1980 1970 Trinidad and Tobago 2011 2000 1990 1980 1970

Turkey 2000 1990; 1985

Uganda 2002 1991

Ukraine 2001 United Kingdom 2001 1991

United States 2010; 2005 2000 1990 1980 1970 1960

Uruguay 2011 2006 1996 1985 1975 1963

Venezuela 2001 1990 1981 1971

Viet Nam 2009 1999 1989

Zambia 2010 2000 1990

29

References

Bongaarts, J. 2010. “Household size and composition in the developing world in the

1990s.” Population Studies 55(3): 263-279.

Dommaraju, P., and J. E. Tan. 2014. “Households in Contemporary South East Asia.” Journal of

Comparative Family Studies XLV(4): 549-580.

Jamba, T., and M. Mmatli. 2016. “Household and family dynamics in South Africa.” In

Odimegwu and Kekovole, eds., Social Demography of South Africa: Advances and emerging

issues, pp. 169-190.

Kriel, A., S. Randall, E. Coast and B. de Clercq. 2014. “From Design to Practice: How can large-

scale household surveys better represent the complexities of social units under investigation?”

African Population Studies 28(3): 1309-1323.

Lesthaeghe, R. 2014. “The second demographic transition: A concise overview of its

development.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Mberu, B. U. 2007. “Household Structure and Living Conditions in Nigeria.” Journal of

Marriage and Family 69(2): 513-527.

Randall, S., E. Coast, P. Antoine, N. Compaore, F. Dial, A. Fanghanel, S. B. Gning, B. G.

Thiombiano, V. Golaz and S. O. Wandera. 2015. “UN census ‘households’ and local

interpretations in Africa since Independence.” Sage Open 5(2): 1-18.

United Nations. n.d. Principles and Recommendation for Population and Housing Censuses,

Revision 3.

———. 1991. Principles for Older Persons: General Assembly resolution 46/91, 16 December.

———. 2002. Report of the Second World Assembly on Ageing. Madrid, 8–12 April 2002. New

York: United Nations.

———. 2005. Living Arrangements of Older Persons Around the World.

———. 2017. Living Arrangements of Older Persons: A Report on an Expanded International

Dataset. New York: United Nations.

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2017. World Population Prospects:

The 2017 Revision. New York.

United Nations Population Division. 2017. Household size and composition around the world

2017: Data Booklet. ST/ESA/SER.A/405.