Turkish society sees surge in solo dwelling: Data

ISTANBUL

In recent years, the preference of individuals to live alone in Türkiye has seen a notable surge, marking a new era in which the traditional family structure and social relations are evolving with the influence of dynamics in work, education, lifestyle choices, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data compiled by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), the number of one-person households, which was 2.9 million in 2014, showed a steady increase to 4 million by 2019.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated this trend. In 2020, during the apex of the pandemic period, the number of people living alone rose to 4.4 million.

In the last 10 years, the number of single-person households increased the most in 2021, when the effects of the pandemic pressed on. This year, the number of one-person households increased by almost 377,000 to 4.7 million.

Meanwhile, other trends in living arrangements in Türkiye show the number of households, whether inhabitants are related or not, is 26.3 million as of last year. This number was 26 million in 2022.

Last year, the number of households consisting of nuclear families with only parents and at least one child was 16.7 million, only mother and children was 2.1 million, and only father and children was around 630,000.

Furthermore, the number of households consisting of extended families was 3.4 million, while the figure for households with more than one person without nuclear families was around 861,000.