Prevalence of loneliness among older adults in Germany

Abstract

Background: Loneliness refers to the subjective perception of a mismatch between a person’s social needs and their actual personal relationships. In this paper, the prevalence of loneliness in the older population was examined based on current data. Methods: The German Ageing Survey is an ongoing, population-representative study. A total of 4,261 people 50 years of age and older were surveyed in 2020/2021 with regard to their experience of loneliness. Results: Overall, 8.3 % of the population 50 years of age and older feel lonely. The findings showed no differences between different age groups over 50 years of age, nor are there gender or educational differences. Conclusions: There was no evidence that older individuals living in private households experience loneliness more commonly than middle-aged individuals. Data from nursing home residents indicate that there may be a higher risk of loneliness.