THE NUMBER of people living on their own in Spain has gone up significantly in a decade according to a National Institute of Statistics(INE) study.
The INE’s Population and Housing Census published on Friday reported a total of 18,539,223 households in Spain as of January 1, 2021- 2.5% more than in 2011.
Single-person households come in at 5,001,166- up 807,847 over ten years and accounting for 27% of all households.
In single-person residences, 41.7% are people aged 65 or over which is 2,089,175- 22.2% more than in 2011.
The majority of single properties- 70.8%- are occupied by females.
The average number of members per household fell marginally to 2.54 people in 2021 as opposed to 2.58 people in 2011, continuing a decline observed over the past 50 years.
The main household profile in 2021 were properties occupied by two people (28.1% of the total) but that nevertheless fell by 238,091 compared to 2011.
Homes where three or four people live have also fallen, while the number of households of five people or more has grown by 194,227 over ten years.
Regarding homes that are empty in Spain, the INE data survey shows that the smallest municipalities, those with less than 1,000 inhabitants, account for 33% of Spain’s empty homes with the total standing at 3,837,328 properties.
The figure suggests continuing issues with rural depopulation and in contrast, cities with more than 250,000 inhabitants have just 7% of the national empty home total.