Household types

On January 1, 2025 there were 2.973.100 private households (open definition) in the Flemish Region. Compared to 2000, this is an increase of 24%. During the same period, the number of residents increased by 16%. This difference indicates that private households have become smaller on average. The average number of people in a household fell from 2.44 in 2000 to 2.28 in 2025.

Between 2000 and 2025, the number of households of couples with resident child(ren) decreased from rounded 855,000 to 828,000. The number of households of couples without resident child(ren) rose from rounded 679,000 to 841,000 and the number of people living alone (or single-person households) increased from rounded 659,000 to 994,000 over the same period. Living alone constituted the most common household type in 2025 with a 33% share.

At the beginning of 1995, 91% of couples without resident children and 96% of couples with resident children were married. By 2025, these shares had fallen to 76% and 72% respectively. The proportion of married couples in early 2025 was thus higher among couples without children than among couples with children.

In early 2025, on average, 1.8 children lived in a household with children (family). More than 4 in 10 households had 1 child. In single-parent households, there were on average 1.6 children living in and the proportion with 1 resident child rose to 6 in 10. Married couples had an average of 1.9 children and unmarried couples had 1.8 children. In 42% of married and unmarried couples, 2 children lived in. In unmarried couples, there was more often 1 child, in married couples slightly more often more than 2 children.

In 2025, one in three private households (33%) in the Flemish Region was a single person household. This proportion varied per municipality from 21% (Herstappe) and 22% (Pepingen) to 48% (Leuven). The highest proportions were found in the coastal municipalities, Leuven, Antwerp and Ghent.

In 2025, there were relatively more couples without children living at home and more couples with children living at home in the Flemish Region than in the other regions. The Flemish Region had the lowest proportion of single person households. It also had the lowest proportion of single parent households.

The Brussels-Capital Region had the lowest proportion of couples (with and without children) and the highest proportion of single person households: in 2025, 47% of all private households in Brussels consisted of one person.

The proportion of single parents was highest in the Walloon Region.

In 2024, the percentage of single person households in the Flemish Region was slightly below the EU average (33 and 35% respectively). Within the EU, the proportion of single person households was highest in the Scandinavian countries, Lithuania and Estonia. Slovakia was at the other end of the scale, with only 11% of households consisting of a single person.