Increase in Kiwis living alone

  • 02/05/2016
Increase in Kiwis living alone

Statistics New Zealand says more people are living alone in New Zealand by circumstance, rather than choice.

New figures show 204,000 people in 2013 lived by themselves as a result of being divorced, separated or widowed.

They make up 63 percent of all people who lived alone in that year, up from 133,000 in 1986.

"For these people, living alone was not a choice, but rather a result of circumstances," social statistics manager Scott Ussher says.

He says it's a "relatively recent phenomenon", but one that's becoming more common.

Older women were more likely to live alone, which Mr Ussher says is down to the difference in life expectancy between the sexes.

In 2012-14 the life expectancy at birth for women was 83.2 years, compared to 79.5 years for men.

Overall, the number of people living alone has been increasing. In 2013, 355,000 people (11.2 percent) lived by themselves, which is 47,000 more than in 2001.

Six out of 10 people who lived alone owned or partly owned their own home, compared to 50 percent of those who co-habited.

Newshub.