Europe faces a demographic turning point as birth rates fall

A steady rise in single-adult households has been recorded across the European Union, according to 2025 data. Of the EU’s 203.1 million households, the largest share consists of single-person households without children, totaling 76.1 million. Couples without children account for 48.9 million households, while couples with children number 29.9 million.

Between 2016 and 2025, the total number of households in the EU increased by 6%. The sharpest growth was observed among single-person households without children, which rose by 19.2%. By contrast, households consisting of couples with children declined by 6.3%.

Growing Number of People Living Alone

Across the EU, 22.5% of adults either live alone or are single parents. This trend becomes more pronounced with age: 32.2% of people aged over 65 live alone, compared with 12.5% among those aged 18–24.

The increase in men living alone has been particularly notable. Among men over the age of 65, the number of single-person households rose by 37% over the past decade, compared with 16.8% among women.

Among individuals aged 25–54, women continue to make up the overwhelming majority of single-parent families. In 2025, 5.5% of women in this age group were single mothers, while the corresponding figure for men stood at just 1.1%.

Decline in Households with Children

Across the EU, only 23.4% of households include children, while 76.6% do not. The highest proportions of households with children are found in Slovakia and Ireland, whereas the lowest are recorded in Finland, Lithuania, and Germany.

Couples remain the most common family structure among households with children in Europe, representing 63.1% of all such households. At the same time, nearly one in eight households with children is headed by a single parent.

The Situation in Greece

Greece is among the EU countries with the lowest proportion of single-parent households, alongside Slovakia and Slovenia, with single-parent families accounting for less than 5% of households with children.

At the same time, Greece reflects the broader European trend of increasing numbers of people living alone, driven primarily by population ageing, delayed family formation among younger generations, and economic pressures affecting both birth rates and cohabitation.

Across Europe, one-child households remain the most common family type. Overall, 50.2% of families with children have one child, 37.6% have two children, and only 12.2% have three or more children.