June 17, 2023, 3:46 am | Read time: 2 minutes
Living space in Germany is unevenly distributed across generations. Older people occupy more square meters on average than younger people. A new statistic now shows how significant the difference is.
Older people in Germany have significantly more living space on average than younger people. In households where the main income earner was at least 65 years old, residents had an average of 68.5 square meters per person last year, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
How much more living space older people have
For those aged 45 to 64, it was 54.8 square meters. The smallest living space was 44.7 square meters per person for those aged 25 to 44, while those under 25 had 45.4 square meters. The reasons are mainly ownership status, the number of people living in a household, and the move-in date.
“Older people have lived in their apartments for more than 20 years in six out of ten cases and often live alone–this is one reason why this group has the largest living space per person on average,” explained the Federal Statistical Office.
Related: People in Germany have more and more living space
How living space per person is distributed
In general, the living space per person is larger the fewer people live in a household. Singles, who make up about 39 percent of all households in Germany, had an average of 73.4 square meters available in 2022. The per-person living space in households with at least four people was only 29.9 square meters.
Those living in their own homes had an average of 65.1 square meters, while those in rental apartments had 48.5 square meters. Additionally, the longer ago the move-in date, the larger the living space. People who moved in before 1999 had an average of 69.2 square meters per person. In households that moved in no earlier than 2019, it was 47.5 square meters. The data is based on self-reports from respondents to the microcensus.
with material from dpa