More elderly expected to live alone as New Zealand population ages

One-person households would be the fastest-growing household type in New Zealand with most of the new single people being elderly, the government statistics agency projected Thursday.

One-person households were projected to rise from 390,000 in 2013 to 580,000 in 2038, said Statistics New Zealand.

They would account for 27 percent of all households in 2038, up from 24 percent in 2013.

"The growth in one-person households is mainly due to the increasing number of people at older ages," the agency's population statistic senior manager Vina Cullum said in a statement.

"Almost 90 percent of this growth in people living alone will occur among those aged 60 years and over."

Cullum said that 11 percent of New Zealand's population would be living alone by 2038, compared with 9 percent in 2013.

Of those living alone, 65 percent were projected to be aged 60 years and over in 2038, compared with 54 percent in 2013.

"Our aging population will also see more couples living without children," Cullum said.

"Most people will still have children during their life, but beyond the mid-50s they are more likely to be living separately from their children."

The total number of households was projected to increase from 1.65 million in 2013 to 2.14 million in 2038.

Over the same period, New Zealand's population was projected to increase from 4.44 million to 5.5 million.

This would see the average household size drop from 2.6 to 2.5 people. Enditem