Given demographic change, it is not surprising that the number of households with older people is increasing. However, barrier-free living options are still comparatively rare.
People in the 65 plus age group live in more and more households in Germany. In 2022, this applied to almost 13 million or 32 percent of all households, the Federal Statistical Office reported on Thursday. This means that the increase of the past few years continued. In 2002, 10.9 million households still had at least one person in this age group living in 29 percent.
The vast majority of older people stay in their own homes – even in old age. Last year, only around 4 percent of those aged 65 or over lived in a nursing facility, retirement home or similar shared accommodation.
Living with younger people is rather an exception
Living together with younger people under the same roof is rather the exception for older people: Most recently, only people over 65 lived in 26 percent of all households. In only 6 percent of all households did people over 65 live with younger people, for example with younger partners or children.
Households with very elderly people over the age of 85 are also more common than 20 years ago: in 2022, at least one person in this age group lived in almost every 20th household. That was a good 2 million households. In 2002 the proportion was 1.1 million households.
Around 6 million people aged 65 and over lived alone in 2022 – that was a good third of this age group. With increasing age, the proportion of people living alone increases: in the age group 85 plus, in 2022, one or two people lived alone. In 2022, 62 percent of the 65 plus age group said they had a partner, but in the 85 plus age group it was only a third.
Apartments not geared to the needs of older people
However, many apartments are not designed to meet the needs of older people if they are limited by declining health or declining mobility: In 2022, 81 percent of households with people aged 65 and over did not have step-free access to their own apartment.
Only 6 percent of seniors stated that their living spaces met all the usual features for barrier-free living. This includes apartment and room doors that are sufficiently wide, that no steps or thresholds restrict freedom of movement and that there is a ground-level entrance to the shower. However, 12 percent of households with older people said they lived in apartments that did not meet any of these conditions.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
