A fifth of the Maltese people live alone, compared to a third across the European Union, Eurostat figures show.

According to data just released by the European Union’s statistics office, 20.2 per cent of the Maltese population consisted of single adults living alone last year.

The EU average stood at 33.1 per cent, making such type of household the most common across the member states.

While Malta’s figure is the lowest in the EU ranking, last year’s figure still marked seven percentage points higher when compared to 10 years earlier.

The statistics also show that single households recorded the highest increase in the period between 2006 and 2016, up 3.4 percentage points.

Increase in childless households

Households consisting of two individuals represented 31.7 per cent of the total last year. The Eurostat study also found that households with two adults and children were the most common in Malta, making up just over 23 per cent of the population living in such a set-up. In 2006, the figures stood at 29.4 per cent.

For data purposes, the study considered any household member under the age of 25 and who is still socially and economically dependent on an adult as a child.

An increase in the number of households made up of couples without children was also noted in the country in the year under review, with 20.7 per cent of the population living in this set-up, making it the second-most popular living arrangement.

The figure stood at 18.5 per cent in 2006.

The data also showed that 23.1 per cent of the population lived in an “other type of household” where there were no children but consisted of more than two adults.

The size of a Maltese household was recorded as being the third highest within the EU, with 2.7 members each. The EU average stood at 2.3 members.

The largest average household size was recorded in Croatia (2.8 members) and the smallest in Sweden (1.9 members), Germany and Denmark (two members each).