Living alone is no longer a demographic exception in Belgium, it has become the country’s most common way of living. According to new figures published by Statbel (Statistics Belgium), the kingdom counted 1,905,155 single-person households on 1 January 2026. That is an increase of 16,158 compared with a year earlier and means that 36.5% of all private households now consist of just one person.
No other household type comes close. Married couples with children accounted for 18.4% of households, married couples without children for 18.0%, cohabiting couples with children for 8.2%, cohabiting couples without children for 6.7%, and single-parent families for 10.0%.
The figures confirm a profound transformation in Belgian society. Three decades ago, living alone was still a minority experience. Today, it is the dominant household arrangement.
The rise of solo living has been decades in the making
The shift has been gradual but remarkably consistent. In 1996, just 30.2% of Belgian private households consisted of a single person. That proportion rose to 33.3% in 2006 and 34.2% in 2016 before reaching today’s record level of 36.5%.
Over thirty years, the share of single-person households has increased by 6.3 percentage points.
In absolute terms, the increase is equally striking. Belgium now has almost two million people living alone. The phenomenon has become one of the country’s defining demographic trends, driven by population ageing, longer life expectancy, later family formation, changing lifestyles, greater economic independence and higher rates of separation and divorce.
Household growth is increasingly fuelled by people living alone
Belgium counted 5,225,771 private households on 1 January 2026, an increase of 26,447 households, or 0.51%, compared with the previous year.
That growth exceeded the country’s population increase of 0.36%.
In other words, the number of households is expanding faster than the number of inhabitants. The explanation lies largely in the growing number of Belgians who live alone.
Belgium also recorded 6,279 collective households, including nursing homes, hospitals, student residences, prisons and religious communities. These are excluded from the analysis.
The growing prevalence of one-person households means that more homes are required to accommodate the same number of residents, placing increasing pressure on housing supply, infrastructure and public services.
Flanders surpasses the one-million mark
The Flemish Region crossed a symbolic milestone in 2026. For the first time, more than one million people in Flanders live alone. The region counted 1,005,851 single-person households, compared with 994,467 a year earlier.
Single-person households now account for 33.6% of all private households in Flanders.
The rise has been dramatic over the longer term. In 1996, only 25.9% of Flemish households consisted of one person. The proportion increased to 29.4% in 2006 and 31.2% in 2016 before reaching its current level.
Flanders has therefore seen an increase of 7.7 percentage points over the past three decades, exceeding the national trend.
Wallonia records an equally strong transformation
Wallonia counted 627,728 people living alone at the beginning of 2026, an increase of 7,535 compared with the previous year.
Single-person households now represent 38.0% of all Walloon households.
The regional transformation mirrors that seen in Flanders. The proportion stood at 30.3% in 1996, rose to 34.4% in 2006 and 35.3% in 2016, before reaching today’s level.
The increase of 7.6 percentage points since 1996 demonstrates how deeply solo living has become embedded in Walloon society.
Brussels remains Belgium’s capital of solo living
Nowhere is living alone more common than in Brussels. Although the Brussels-Capital Region recorded a slight decline in the number of single-person households, from 274,337 in 2025 to 271,576 in 2026, nearly half of all private households in the capital consist of a single resident.
At 46.8%, Brussels remains far ahead of the other regions.
The capital has followed a distinct demographic path. In 1996, single-person households represented 50.6% of all Brussels households. That share gradually declined to 49.7% in 2006 and 46.1% in 2016 before stabilising and edging upwards again.
Brussels’ unique profile reflects its large student population, sizeable expatriate community, concentration of young professionals and high number of older residents maintaining independent lives.
Smaller households are becoming the norm
The expansion of solo living is reflected in another long-term trend: shrinking household size.
The average Belgian household consisted of 2.24 people in 2026, down from 2.42 people in 1996.
In Flanders, the average household size fell from 2.50 to 2.28 people over the same period. In Wallonia, it declined from 2.43 to 2.22.
Brussels presents a notable exception. Average household size there rose from 1.99 people in 1996 to 2.15 in 2016 before stabilising and declining slightly to 2.14 in 2026.
Statbel notes that household sizes in Brussels are gradually converging with those in the rest of the country.
Antwerp province and city illustrate the urban picture
Among the provinces, Antwerp remains the Flemish leader in absolute numbers.
The province counted 288,869 people living alone in 2026, up from 287,119 in 2025. Single-person households represented approximately 34.6% of all households.
The city of Antwerp itself recorded 106,949 single-person households, slightly fewer than the 107,974 registered a year earlier.
Despite this modest decline, people living alone remain by far the largest household group in the city. They account for around 42.8% of all private households in Antwerp, well above the Flemish average and approaching Brussels levels.
The figures reinforce Antwerp’s position as a major urban centre characterised by independent living, attracting students, professionals, migrants and older residents alike.
The traditional household continues to lose ground
The growing prominence of single-person households has reshaped Belgium’s overall household structure.
Households containing a couple accounted for 60.2% of private households in 1996. By 2026, their share had fallen to 51.2%.
Marriage has also become less dominant. Whereas 92.3% of couples were married in 1996, the proportion has fallen to 71.0% today. Nearly three in ten couples now cohabit without being married.
Single-parent households, meanwhile, represented 10.0% of Belgian households in 2026. After decades of growth, their share appears to have stabilised.
A demographic revolution hiding in plain sight
Belgium’s latest household statistics reveal more than a simple change in numbers. They point to a fundamental shift in how people organise their lives.
Living alone is no longer associated primarily with widowhood or old age. It increasingly encompasses young adults delaying family formation, divorced people establishing new households, professionals choosing independent lifestyles and older generations remaining self-sufficient for longer.
As household growth increasingly outpaces population growth, the implications extend far beyond demographics. Housing policy, urban planning, healthcare provision and social support systems will all need to adapt to a society in which the single-person household has become the norm.
With more than 1.9 million Belgians now living alone, Belgium has entered a new demographic era — one defined not by the traditional family household, but by the rise of the one-person home.
Single & Solo
- Single buyers account for a growing share of Belgium’s property market.
- Single tenants in Flanders face rising housing costs.
- Solo Travel May Be Booming, But the Industry Still Rewards Couples.
- Belgium records 36% single-person households on 1 January 2025.
- Single-person households on the rise across the EU.
- STUDY | Singlehood in Belgium shaped by gender and migration background.
- STUDY | Singlehood is far more complex than ‘by choice’ or ‘not by choice’.
- BOOK REVIEW | ‘Vanilla’ by Ype Driessen, daring to question the societal precedence of the romantic relationship.
- Single-positive novel ‘Tijd om te bloeien’ out now.
- HOW TO | Solo in Tokyo, Japan.
- Nikita (25) from Halle publishes feminist and single-positive feelgood novel ‘Tijd om te bloeien’: “The story I wanted to read myself”.
- STUDY | Single life no longer a transitional phase: only one in eight actively seeking a partner.
- The best cities to visit as a gay solo traveller.
- The best cities for gay cruising? London, Berlin, Paris, Madrid and Barcelona.
- Tourism Flanders tightens Airbnb rules to protect housing for singles.
- How Belgium has changed in the last 25 years.
- Belgians book Asia, vintage travel and boutique hotels for spring and summer 2025.
- SOLO TRAVEL | More expensive, but also some advantages.
- MONTREAL | Dining solo at Monarque felt like being part of a tv show.
- Antwerp Pride 2022 made big impact with Queertopia, monkeypox highjacked the festivities.
- Hotel room for one.
- SINGLES DAY | Why everyone should travel alone sometimes.
3 thoughts on “Belgium records 36.5% single-person households on 1 January 2026: living alone is the new normal”