- United States: 42% of adults live without a romantic partner (Pew, 2023), and 25% of 40-year-olds have never been married.
- Japan: around 28% of men and 18% of women are still unmarried at 50 (2020).
- South Korea: one-person households now make up 35.5% of all households (2023), a record.
- China: marriages fell 20.5% in 2024, to 6.1 million.
If singlehood were a country, it would be one of the largest in the world. In almost every economy, people are marrying later, living alone longer and questioning the relationship models they inherited. But every region experiences it very differently.
United States: 4 in 10 adults without a partner
According to Pew Research Center’s analysis of census data, 42% of US adults were neither married nor living with a partner in 2023, a slight dip from 44% in 2019. The most striking figure is generational: 25% of 40-year-olds have never been married, a record; in 1980 it was 6%.
The Census Bureau also reports that one-person households made up around 29% of all households in 2024, and that 34% of people aged 15 and over had never been married.
Japan: the country that “forgot” to marry
Japan is the most extreme example. After the war, only around 1% of the population was still single at 50. By 2020, according to census data, about 28% of men and 18% of women had never married by 50. The reasons cited most often are work pressure, economic uncertainty and a lack of places to meet people outside of work.
South Korea: the age of one-person households
In 2023, Statistics Korea counted 7.83 million one-person households: 35.5% of all households in the country, the highest share on record. Korea also has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, and the government has launched programs to encourage dating and marriage.
China: 20% fewer weddings in a single year
China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs reported 6.1 million marriage registrations in 2024, a 20.5% drop from 7.68 million in 2023. Over the same period, divorces rose slightly to 2.62 million. The cost of living and economic uncertainty are leading many young couples to postpone the wedding.
Europe: the most common household is one person living alone
According to Eurostat, of the 202 million households in the European Union in 2024, more than 75 million were single adults without children: around 37%. It’s the most common type of household on the continent. In countries like Sweden and Germany, more than 20% of the population lives alone.
And Mexico? Closer to the world than you think
Mexico is living its own version of the global phenomenon: the age at marriage (31.7 and 34.7) is already on par with the OECD average (around 32 and 34), the marriage rate keeps falling year after year, and almost half of adults don’t live with a partner. The difference is cultural: in Mexico, family and community still matter enormously, and that’s a huge advantage for anyone looking to truly connect.
Three global lessons for anyone looking for love
- Technology alone didn’t fix the problem. The countries with the most dating apps aren’t the ones with the most couples. More options have brought more indecision.
- Lack of time and places to meet is the real enemy. In Japan and Korea, work culture left millions without a social life. Protecting your time to connect is a decision.
- The human touch is back. All over the world, professional matchmaking, curated events and intentional communities are growing, precisely because they bring back the human filter.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has the most single people?
It depends on the measure. Japan is the most extreme case of prolonged singlehood (around 28% of men and 18% of women were unmarried at 50 in 2020), while in South Korea one-person households already make up 35.5% of the total, and in the European Union the most common household is a single adult living alone.
What percentage of Americans don’t have a partner?
According to Pew Research Center, 42% of US adults were neither married nor living with a partner in 2023.
Why are there more and more single people worldwide?
A mix of factors: cost of living and economic uncertainty, work cultures that leave little time for a social life, more years in education, greater financial independence for women and the sense of endless options that dating apps create.
How does Mexico compare with the rest of the world?
Mexico is now at the OECD average for age at marriage (31.7 for women and 34.7 for men, versus about 32 and 34), and almost half of its adults don’t live with a partner. The difference is cultural: family and community still carry a lot of weight.
- Pew Research Center — Share of U.S. adults living without a romantic partner has ticked down in recent years (2025)
- Pew Research Center — A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married (2023)
- U.S. Census Bureau — Families and Living Arrangements 2024
- Nippon.com — Single living trend continues to grow in Japan (Japan 2020 Census data)
- The Korea Times — Proportion of single-person households reaches record 35.5% in 2023 (Statistics Korea)
- China Daily — China records 6.1m marriage registrations in 2024 (Ministry of Civil Affairs)
- Eurostat — Household composition statistics
- OECD — Society at a Glance 2024: Marriage and divorce
- INEGI — Statistics for Valentine’s Day / Día del Amor y la Amistad (release 42/25, ENADID 2023, ENBIARE 2021, ENUT 2019)
TovLov TeamPersonalized matchmaking in Mexico. We research and write about relationships using official data.
