Fewer people hook up and shack up in the rich world

TL;DR

Across rich countries, rates of singlehood have accelerated, with fewer young people dating, cohabiting or marrying.
In America, 41% of women and 50% of men aged 25-34 were single in 2023, double the share from five decades ago.
This relationship recession, driven by social media, apps and polarisation, will drag on birth rates and demand more solo housing.[[1]](https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/11/06/all-over-the-rich-world-fewer-people-are-hooking-up-and-shacking-up)[[2]](https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/11/06/the-rise-of-singlehood-is-reshaping-the-world)

The story at a glance

Fewer people in rich countries are forming romantic relationships, living together or marrying, a trend the article calls a "relationship recession". It draws on data from OECD countries, America and Europe, spotlighting examples like picky daters in New York. The piece is reported now amid falling birth rates and post-pandemic shifts in social life.[[1]](https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/11/06/all-over-the-rich-world-fewer-people-are-hooking-up-and-shacking-up)[[2]](https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/11/06/the-rise-of-singlehood-is-reshaping-the-world)

Key points

Share of people living alone rose in 26 of 30 OECD countries from 2010 to 2022; in Europe, each generation is less likely to marry or cohabit at the same age.[[2]](https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/11/06/the-rise-of-singlehood-is-reshaping-the-world)[[3]](https://www.reddit.com/r/neoliberal/comments/1opxj6f/all_over_the_rich_world_fewer_people_are_hooking)
The Economist calculates at least 100m more single adults worldwide than if coupling rates held steady from 2017, factoring in pandemic effects and Asian marriage drops.[[2]](https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/11/06/the-rise-of-singlehood-is-reshaping-the-world)[[4]](https://www.edwardconard.com/macro-roundup/among-americans-25-34-41-of-women-and-50-of-men-were-single-in-2023-a-share-that-has-doubled-over-the-past-5-decades-between-2010-and-2022-the-fraction-of-people-living-alone-rose-in-26-of?view=detail)
Younger people socialise and date less, start sex later and have less of it; the trend hits casual hook-ups too.[[5]](https://onlinepersonalswatch.com/2025/12/all-over-the-rich-world-fewer-people-are-hooking-up-and-shacking-up)
Main factors include social media, dating apps, political divides (eg, refusing opposite views), women's gains reducing marriage pressure, and high standards on politics, career and family.[[1]](https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/11/06/all-over-the-rich-world-fewer-people-are-hooking-up-and-shacking-up)
Many singles—around 60-70% in surveys—say they want a relationship but face market mismatches or have quit looking.[[6]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXBh0XHEZKY)

Details and context

Singlehood has risen for decades but picked up speed lately, accelerated by covid lockdowns that cut dating and added 13.7m extra US singles in 2022 alone, per Stanford's Michael Rosenfeld.[[4]](https://www.edwardconard.com/macro-roundup/among-americans-25-34-41-of-women-and-50-of-men-were-single-in-2023-a-share-that-has-doubled-over-the-past-5-decades-between-2010-and-2022-the-fraction-of-people-living-alone-rose-in-26-of?view=detail) Apps promise abundance but often lead to choice overload and ghosting; social media amps up ideals while cutting real-world mingling. Politics sorts people into narrow pools—Nancy Anteby in New York skips non-liberals, ambitious non-Jews or family skeptics.[[1]](https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/11/06/all-over-the-rich-world-fewer-people-are-hooking-up-and-shacking-up)

Women's workplace advances let them opt out of bad matches, a benign shift, but it leaves more men single too. Pro-natalists fret over civilisation's end from low births; the article sees mixed effects, from empowerment to loneliness.[[2]](https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/11/06/the-rise-of-singlehood-is-reshaping-the-world)

Key quotes

“I don’t date conservative or moderate men,” says Nancy Anteby, a 30-year-old New Yorker who works in social media. “I only date liberal men.”[[1]](https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/11/06/all-over-the-rich-world-fewer-people-are-hooking-up-and-shacking-up)

Why it matters

The spread of single living strains housing supply, slows already low fertility rates and reshapes economies from construction to elder care. For individuals it means more freedom but potential isolation; businesses face solo consumer demands, investors eye related sectors warily. Watch fertility data and dating-app tweaks, though experts disagree if tech fixes or worsens mismatches.[[2]](https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/11/06/the-rise-of-singlehood-is-reshaping-the-world)