Living arrangements
3 in 5 women aged 75+ live alone
People living alone by sex and age, Great Britain, 2007
Older women are more likely than older men to live alone and the percentage increases with advancing age. In 2007 in Great Britain, 30 per cent of women aged 65 and over lived alone compared to 20 per cent of men in this age group; and for those aged 75 and over this increases to 61 per cent and 34 per cent respectively.
Marital status of older people by sex and age, Great Britain, 2007
In 2007 in Great Britain, the majority of older men living in private accommodation lived in a married couple household, although this percentage decreased with age. Slightly more than three quarters of the men aged 65-74 lived in a married couple household. This percentage decreased to 61 per cent for men aged 75 and over. Among women, the percentage living in a married couple household decreased much more sharply, from 61 per cent of women aged 65 to 74 to 28 per cent of women aged 75 and over.
Very few people aged 65 and over cohabitate, although this is becoming more common for people in their 50s. In 2007 in Great Britain, 6 per cent of men and 5 per cent of women aged 50–59 were cohabitating up from 5 per cent and 4 percent respectively in 2002.
Death of one’s spouse becomes increasingly more common at older ages, particularly for women; 23 per cent of women aged 65-74 were widowed compared to 11 per cent of men of the same age. Among women aged 75 and over the percentage of widows increases sharply to 61 per cent; the percentage for widowed men increases to 27 per cent.
The gender differences in marital status described are largely accounted for by the general greater life expectancy of women and their tendency to marry men older than themselves.
There was a decrease in the percentages of older people living in communal establishments in the UK between 1991 and 2001, particularly among the oldest old. In 2001, 5 per cent of people aged 65 and over and 20 per cent of people aged 85 and over were living in communal establishments compared to 6 per cent and 26 per cent respectively in 1991. This fall was in part a consequence of policy in the early 1990s to re-direct expenditure from residential services to supporting people in their own homes and communities.
Older women are more likely than older men to live in communal establishments. In 2001, 6 per cent of women aged 65 and over in the UK were living in communal establishments, compared with 3 per cent of men in the same age group; and almost a quarter of women aged 85 and over (23 per cent) lived in communal establishments compared to 12 per cent of men of this age.
One of the main reasons for the higher presence of women in communal establishments is the gender difference in marital status. Women are more likely than men to be widowed and so be without a spouse who could potentially care for them. Another important factor is the higher level of disability reported by women than men at any given older age.
Sources: General Household Survey, Great Britain 2007 ONS, GROS and NISRA, Census 2001
Notes: Married includes persons in legally recognised Civil Partnerships More information on General Household Survey 2007 is available at:
printer-friendly
Focus on Older People home