Living alone

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Living alone

Living alone affects an individual's chances for social interaction and can lead to social isolation. The increasing propensity to live alone reduces the levels of informal care that are more likely to be available to older people who live with other people such as their family. This can place a greater demand on social services and may be linked with greater risk of incidents such as falls. In 2012 there was an estimated 81,182 people aged 65+ living alone in Lancashire, around 37% of the total population of people aged 65+ in the county. This number is predicted to increase by 44% by 2030. Females aged 75+ are twice as likely to live alone as males of a similar age. This is most likely explained by the increased life expectancy of females compared to males.

Source: POPPI (Projecting Older People Population Information System) (2012).