Nearly 1 in 10 Dutch people frequently lonely in 2019

27/03/2020 12:23

Last year, 9 percent of the Dutch population aged 15 and over reported they frequently felt lonely; 26 percent said they sometimes felt lonely, while the remaining 66 percent were not feeling lonely. Single people and single parents are more likely to feel lonely than couples and children living at home. One-third of the over-75s sometimes feel lonely while 9 percent say this is very often the case. These are results from a survey on social cohesion and well-being, conducted by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

This 2019 survey, 'Social cohesion & well-being', included questions regarding people’s subjective feelings of loneliness. The respondents were requested to indicate either ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘somewhat’ in response to statements regarding experiencing emptiness, whether there were people with whom they felt connected, people they could trust, they could fall back on during hard times; whether they were lacking the company of certain people, and whether they often felt abandoned. They were then placed into one of three categories based on their response; ‘frequently lonely’, ‘sometimes lonely’ and ‘never lonely’. These categories were created in accordance with existing international guidelines.

Single parents and single people most vulnerable to severe loneliness

Single people and single parents are more likely to feel lonely than couples and those living with their parent(s). There are equally large groups of singles (14 percent) and single parents (15 percent) who report they frequently feel lonely.
One-fifth of the single people and over one-quarter of single parents do have a steady partner, but do not live together with him or her. Those with a partner who is not a member of their household are less frequently lonely than those without a partner. Among singles without a partner, 16 percent say they frequently feel lonely; this share was 8 percent among the singles with a partner.

Severe social isolation among nearly one in five single parents

Loneliness can be a sense of either social or emotional isolation. Social isolation refers to the need for more social contacts, while being emotionally isolated means lacking an emotionally close relationship. 12 percent of all people aged 15 and over experience severe social isolation. In addition, 8 percent reported frequently feeling emotionally isolated.

Loneliness by household position, 2019
Gezinssituatie	Never lonely (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over )	Sometimes lonely (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over )	Frequently lonely (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over )
Single person	52.2	33.7	14.1
Single parent	57.1	28.4	14.5
Child at home	66.5	25.8	7.7
Partner without children	69.8	24.1	6.0
Partner with children	72.2	21.0	6.8

Loneliness by household position, 2019
Gezinssituatie	Never lonely (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over )	Sometimes lonely (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over )	Frequently lonely (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over )
Single person	52.2	33.7	14.1
Single parent	57.1	28.4	14.5
Child at home	66.5	25.8	7.7
Partner without children	69.8	24.1	6.0
Partner with children	72.2	21.0	6.8

Single people and single parents are more likely to report social isolation than couples and children living at home. Among single parents, 18 percent report severe social isolation and the need for more social contacts; among single people, this share amounted to 16 percent. Single people and single parents are more likely than other groups to experience severe emotional isolation.

Loneliness by household position, 2019
Positie huishouden	Severe emotional isolation (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over)	Severe social isolation (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over)
Single person	14.8	16.3
Single parent	13.4	17.7
Child at home	6.5	9.0
Partner, without children	5.3	9.8
Partner, with children	5.1	11.0

Loneliness by household position, 2019
Positie huishouden	Severe emotional isolation (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over)	Severe social isolation (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over)
Single person	14.8	16.3
Single parent	13.4	17.7
Child at home	6.5	9.0
Partner, without children	5.3	9.8
Partner, with children	5.1	11.0

Nearly 1 in 10 people aged 75 and over are frequently lonely

Moderate loneliness is more prevalent among the elderly (i.e. people aged 75 and over) than among people under the age of 75. One out of 3 people aged 75 and over report feeling somewhat lonely. This share is around 1 in 4 among the under-75s. Frequent feelings of loneliness are felt by 9 percent of people aged 75 and over. This is similar to the levels reported by people in younger age groups.

Loneliness by age, 2019
Leeftijdscatehorie	Never lonely (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over)	Sometimes lonely (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over)	Frequently lonely (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over)
15 to 24 yrs	65.7	25.2	9.0
25 to 34 yrs	67.5	24.6	7.9
35 to 44 yrs	66.3	22.8	10.9
45 to 54 yrs	65.3	26.1	8.6
55 to 64 yrs	66.1	26.0	8.0
65 to 74 yrs	67.5	24.7	7.8
75 yrs and over	58.2	32.9	8.8

Loneliness by age, 2019
Leeftijdscatehorie	Never lonely (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over)	Sometimes lonely (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over)	Frequently lonely (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over)
15 to 24 yrs	65.7	25.2	9.0
25 to 34 yrs	67.5	24.6	7.9
35 to 44 yrs	66.3	22.8	10.9
45 to 54 yrs	65.3	26.1	8.6
55 to 64 yrs	66.1	26.0	8.0
65 to 74 yrs	67.5	24.7	7.8
75 yrs and over	58.2	32.9	8.8

Social and emotional isolation equally prevalent among elderly

Among those aged 75 years and over, frequent feelings of emotional isolation are almost just as prevalent as frequent feelings of social isolation. The same applies to young people under the age of 35. People between the ages of 35 and 75, however, are more likely to have frequent feelings of social rather than emotional isolation. In addition, this age group has a higher prevalence of frequently experienced social isolation (13 percent) than those under 35 or over 75 (both 10 percent). The elderly aged 75 and over are more likely to report some emotional isolation than those in younger age groups. The fact that elderly are more often single plays a role.

Loneliness by age, 2019
Leeftijdscategorie	Severe emotional isolation (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over)	Severe social isolation (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over)
15 to 24 yrs	8.2	10.1
25 to 34 yrs	7.9	9.7
35 to 44 yrs	8.0	13.6
45 to 54 yrs	7.3	13.6
55 to 64 yrs	7.3	13.2
65 to 74 yrs	7.1	12.1
75 yrs and over	10.9	9.7

Loneliness by age, 2019
Leeftijdscategorie	Severe emotional isolation (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over)	Severe social isolation (% of persons aged 15 yrs and over)
15 to 24 yrs	8.2	10.1
25 to 34 yrs	7.9	9.7
35 to 44 yrs	8.0	13.6
45 to 54 yrs	7.3	13.6
55 to 64 yrs	7.3	13.2
65 to 74 yrs	7.1	12.1
75 yrs and over	10.9	9.7

Data
Figures in this news release concern the year 2019 and are based on the Social cohesion and well-being survey. Furthermore, the figures in this news release refer to different age categories (i.e. 15 years and over instead of 19 years and over) than in the survey. The survey design and implementation are not entirely comparable.