The loneliest cities in Poland. The new data may be surprising

Demographic changes in Poland are increasingly affecting not only society, but also the housing market. Experts of the RynekPierwotny.pl portal. analyzed census data from the last 30 years and note a significant increase in the number of single-person households.

– Since the end of the 1980s, there have been over half a million single-person households in Poland. However, this is not the end of significant changes, say experts from the RynekPierwotny.pl portal.

According to real estate market analysts, not only the number of inhabitants per household is changing, but also the structure of Polish families and the way of life. More and more people live alone or in two-person households, which directly translates into a growing demand for smaller apartments – both purchased and rented.

The definition of household is no longer the same

Experts of the RynekPierwotny.pl portal. point out that comparing data from different decades is not entirely simple. All because of the change in the definition of household used during the last census.

In 1988, 2002 and 2011, a household meant people living together and providing for themselves. However, in 2021, the so-called housing definition.

– There was a change in 2021, as the so-called household housing concept. According to it, people living in one house/flat (whether related or unrelated) are automatically considered members of the same household. It cannot be ruled out that leaving the older definition, which also took into account the criterion of shared maintenance, would result in an even greater increase in the census number of single-person households – explains Andrzej Prajsnar, an expert at the RynekPierwotny.pl portal.

The changes are also well demonstrated by average data on the number of people in a household:

• 1988 – 3.10 people,

• 2002 – 2.84 people,

• 2011 – 2.82 people,

• 2021 – approx. 2.75 people according to the old methodology.

Warsaw and Łódź have been at the top of the ranking for years

Although the lifestyle of Poles has changed over the last three decades, some cities still remain leaders in terms of the number of people living alone.

– Both in 1988 and 2021, two cities (Warsaw and Łódź) led in terms of the high share of single-person households. It was 26 percent. the total number of farms (1988) and 35 percent (2021) – indicate RynekPierwotny.pl experts.

Analysts emphasize that at the end of the Polish People’s Republic the share of single inhabitants was approximately 25%. was a rarity. Today, similar values ​​no longer surprise anyone, especially in large cities.

Interestingly, the data from 2021 may have been additionally lowered by the pandemic and the temporary removal of young residents from the largest agglomerations.

There are also historical processes behind the changes

Experts indicate that the growing number of lonely city residents is not only the result of social changes or lower fertility rates. Old migrations from villages to cities are also important.

– The consequences of historical processes are also important. In the years 1965–1985, as many as 3.5 million people moved to cities (after deducting migration from cities to the countryside). Now the former arrivals from the countryside are elderly and often lonely, explains Andrzej Prajsnar.

Additionally, young families are increasingly moving to suburban towns, which means that the share of seniors living alone in large cities is increasing. This, in turn, creates new challenges for the real estate market, urban planning and housing policy.

Experts also emphasize that the group of single-person households includes not only young singles, but also an increasing number of single seniors who often struggle with problems of unsuitable apartments or too large square footage after their children move out.