Single-person households in 2035 will account for 37.2 percent of all households in Japan, up 4.8 percentage points from 2010, according to estimates in a new report.
The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, which released the report Friday, attributed the rise to the increasing number of people it projects will remain single or who will divorce over the next two decades. The ratio of household heads aged 65 or above is also forecast to jump to 40.8 percent in 2035 from 31.2 percent in 2010.
Single-person homes became the largest category among all households types for the first time in 2010.
Meanwhile, the ratio of couples with children among the total households is estimated to fall to 23.3 percent in 2035 from 27.9 percent in 2010. Such households accounted for more than 40 percent of the total in the 1980s, according to the report.
The overall number of households will peak at 53.07 million in 2019, compared with a fraction under 51.9 million in 2010, before falling to just over 49.5 million in 2035 due to the falling birthrate, the report predicted.
The institute's estimates were based on data issued in January 2012, including population projections. Such reports are scheduled to be compiled every five years.