Living Arrangements
7 in 10 women aged 85+ live alone
People in private households who live alone: by age and gender, April 2001, Great Britain
Older women are more likely than older men to live alone and the proportion increases with advancing age. Among women aged 85 and over who live in private GB households, 71 per cent lived alone in 2001, compared with 42 per cent of men of the same age.
The majority of older men live in a married couple family, though the proportion declines with age. Among men living in private households, the proportion fell from 74 per cent for men aged 50 to 64 years old, to 71 per cent for those aged 65 to 84 and 45 per cent for men aged 85 and over.
Among older women the proportion decreases more sharply with age. It fell from 70 per cent of women aged 50 to 64 to 45 per cent aged 65 to 84 and 10 per cent aged 85 and over.
Cohabitation is becoming more common among people in their fifties than in the past, and again the proportion declines with age. In 2001, 5.5 per cent of men and 4.3 per cent of women aged 50 to 64 lived with a partner without being married to them. This compares with 1.6 per cent of men and 0.6 per cent of women aged 85 and over.
Widowhood is common among women at older ages. Nearly half of women aged 65 and over are widowed and this proportion rises to four fifths of those aged 85 and over.
Living with other people (not including a spouse, cohabiting partner or child) is not very common, though it too increases with advancing age. In 2001, 7 per cent of men and 10 per cent of women aged 85 and over were living with others.
Percentage of people who live in communal establishments: by age and gender, April 1991 and 2001, Great Britain
In 2001, 4 per cent of people aged 65 and over (373,000) were resident in communal establishments in Great Britain, a smaller proportion than the 5 per cent in the 1991. This proportion was greatest among people aged 85 and over at 18 per cent in 2001. It also fell, from 23 per cent in 1991.
Older women are more likely than older men to live in communal establishments. Among women aged 65 and over, 5 per cent were resident in communal establishments, compared with 2 per cent of men in the same age group. The difference is even more striking among people aged 85 and over: 21 per cent of women compared with 11 per cent of men.
One of the main reasons for the higher presence of women in communal establishments is gender differences in marital status. Women are more likely than men to be widowed and so be without a spouse to care for them. In addition, at ages over 85, never married people are even more likely than widowed people to live in a communal establishment. Another important factor is the higher level of disability reported by women than men at any given older age.
Sources: Census, April 1991 and 2001, Office for National Statistics Census, April 1991 and 2001, General Register Office for Scotland
Notes: All data relate to Great Britain.
A resident in a communal establishment is any person who has been living, or intends to live, in the establishment for six months or more. It excludes vistors and staff family members. People visiting the establishment on Census day who do not have a usual address elsewhere are also classified as a resident.
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