The cornerstone of unity

part of their income.
Heikki Hiilamo, professor of social policy at
the University of Helsinki 
 
78 LIVING ALONE 
– A NEW GLOBAL TREND
There are two major global population trends: population ageing and the increasing number of one-person 
households. Everywhere in the world, more and more people are living alone. The reason is unknown, and 
sociologists are indeed astonished. The trend is strongest in the Nordic countries and Singapore, and Finland is 
almost at the forefront.
There are 2.56 million households in Finland, of which over one million (41%) are single households. It is 
often thought t
hat people who live alone are mostly widowed senior citizens, but that isn’t true. The 35- to 64-
year-olds are the biggest group (42%) and mostly men; one third are 65 and over; and one fourth are below 35. 
More than two thirds of people over the age of 65 live alone, which is the highest percentage of all age groups. 
Only one person lives in half of Helsinki’s households. Most people now living in institutions previously lived 
alone.
Though living alone is not a problem as such, these people have many financial, social, and health problems 
and have issues connected with personal relationships, services, and everyday practical things. 
In 2010, 13.1% of Finnish households lived below the poverty line defined by the EU. This was the sixth 
lowest figure in the EU. According to the same definition, 31.5% of one-person households were poor, which 
was the second highest figure in the EU, after Bulgaria.
The health of people who live alone is worse and their mortality rate is higher than that of the rest of the 
population. Many mentally ill, handicapped, and chronically ill people have lived alone since their youth. A 
separate group consists of the approximately 70,000 adults who live with their elderly parents. When the parents 
die, most of these people live alone.
Of the households that received income support in 2010, 71% were people living alone. The biggest group of 
people searching for apartments are people who want to live alone because few small, inexpensive apartments 
have been built in the biggest cities.
Many services reach families easier than people living alone. Reductions in local services can make daily life 
more difficult especially for elderly people living alone. Living alone can be connected with feelings of loneliness 
as well as social isolation and sexual problems.
The rapid increase in one-person households requires new approaches in urban and housing planning. 
Finland’s relatively successful, long-term family policies have been implemented through many family legislation 
measures, whose effe
cts on people who live alone were not evaluated. Finland’s equal rights policy requires that 
nobody is disadvantaged due to age, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation. It has not been applied to 
people who live alone compared to those who live in families. There is a need for studies of the side effects of 
family legislation on people who live alone.
The Y-Foundation was founded already decades ago to buy and build apartments for people who live alone. 
The Finnish Union for Senior Services (Valli) and the Y-Foundation have raised the issue of people living alone 

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into the Finnish public discourse. The goal is to have Finland take the initiative in international discussions. 
Living alone is a global phenomenon that the EU and UN really should deal with.
Ilkka Taipale, Member of Parliament 1971
–1975, 2000–2007
Vappu Taipale 
– Minister of Social Affairs and Health 1982–1984,
director general of the National Research and Development Centre
for Welfare and Health 1992
–2008