Households with just one resident account for almost 20% in Brazil

The most common household arrangement in Brazil in 2025 was nuclear, which corresponded to 65.6% of total households, but showed a drop compared to 2012 (68.4%). The nuclear arrangement consists of a single nucleus formed by the couple, with or without children (including adopted and foster children) or stepchildren. Domestic units composed of a mother with children or a father with children, known as single parents, are also nuclear.

The extended unit, made up of the responsible person with at least one relative, forming a family that does not fit into one of the types described as nuclear, corresponded to 13.5% in 2025, a reduction of 4.4 percentage points compared to 2012.

Single-person domestic units, that is, composed of just one resident, increased from 12.2% to 19.7%, an increase of 7.5 percentage points (8.2 million more households). When analyzing the age pattern of people in single-person arrangements, it was observed that 12% were between 15 and 29 years old; 46.8% were between 30 and 59 years old; and 41.2% were people aged 60 or over.

The information is from Pnad Contínua: Characteristics of households and residents, released last Friday (17) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

Women were 45.1% of people living alone in 2025, while men were 54.9%. There are marked differences between men and women who lived alone in terms of age profile. 56.6% of men in single-person arrangements were aged 30 to 59, followed by those aged 60 and over (28.6%). Among women, the majority were aged 60 or over (56.5%).

Southeast and Central-West had the highest percentages of households with just one resident, with 20.9% and 20.0%, respectively, while the North Region recorded the lowest proportion (15.1%). The North and Northeast recorded the highest proportions of extended housing units, with 20.1% and 15.5%, respectively, while the South Region, with 11.0%, recorded the lowest proportion.

Source: Antena 1