The number of people living alone in Scotland is projected to top one million for the first time by 2032, according to figures from National Records of Scotland. 

If this trend continues the number of households will increase by 6.7% from 2022 to 2032 to a total of 2.68 million. Within that total 1,018,000 (38%) will be a single person household. 

For Orkney the projection for households by 2032 is:

• single person : 39.65%
• 2+ adults : 40.67%
• adults with dependent children: 19.67%

Orkney shows very little change in the overall number of households being predicted, 11,000.

Projected number of households, council areas,

2022 and 2032

All council areas are projected to see an increase in older households with Orkney coming near the top at number 3.

Projected percentage of households with a household reference person (HRP) aged 75 years or over, council areas, 2032

This clearly has implications for housing and service provision, however, it is based on current trends, which means it could change if more young families were to live in Orkney.

Sandy Taylor, head of household statistics at NRS said:

“The number of households in Scotland is projected to grow at a faster rate than the population. This is because Scotland’s population is ageing and people are more likely to live alone as they get older.

“By 2032 it is projected that just over one fifth of the population aged 16 and over will be living alone. This proportion increases with age. It’s just over a third for those aged 65 and over and more than half for those aged 85 and over.”

Men are more likely to be living alone than women in all age groups up to 64 years old. However from this point onwards women are more likely to be living alone and this likelihood increases with age. This reflects greater life expectancy of females and also the tendency of women to have partners who are older than them. 

Most areas of Scotland are seeing an increase in the number of households, with Midlothian being the highest at 17.4%.  With a projected fall of 1% in the number of households, Inverclyde is the only local authority area projected to show a decrease. Relatively small increases are projected for West Dunbartonshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Na h-Eileanan Siar and North Ayrshire. 

Click on this link for more information from the National Records of Scotland.

Fiona Grahame

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