More and more people in the UK are living alone. Almost one third of all households — approximately 6.5 million — are now one-person households. In fact, the proportion of people living alone doubled between 1972 and 2008. While a considerable proportion of one-person households consist of pensioners — many of whom live alone following the death of their spouse — the biggest rate of growth of one-person households has occurred among people of working age. Since 1971 the number of working-age people living alone has more than trebled, from 1 million to 3.5 million.
However, does ‘living alone’ equate with ‘loneliness’? Obviously not — many people living alone do so from choice and lead rich and full social lives, while some people who do not live alone, such as lone mothers with young children, or those living in a hostel, may well feel lonely and isolated.
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