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Kinlessness at older ages: Prevalence and heterogeneity in 27 countries

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Abstract

Availability of kin has profound effects on the lives of people, especially in later life when social networks tend to be composed prevalently of family members, and care needs increase. Using data from the last wave (wave 8; 2019-2020) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we estimate the prevalence of kinlessness (i.e., absence of close kin) among older adults aged 65 and more in 27 countries. We consider different definitions of kinlessness, from a less restrictive (i.e., based only on the absence of both partner and children) to a more restrictive one (based also on the absence of grandchildren, parents and siblings). Results show a large variation of kinlessness across countries. The proportion of adults aged 65 and above who lack both a partner and children range between 2-3.5% in Czech Republic, Romania, Israel, and Bulgaria, and more than 8% in Switzerland, Spain, Belgium and Malta. The percentage of older people lacking all considered kin ranges from 0.1 to 4.1%. In addition, in some countries there is a substantial heterogeneity in kinlessness by age and sex. Differences by education are, instead, rare. Understanding the prevalence of older individuals without close kin is critical for policymakers and healthcare providers to design appropriate support systems for this particularly vulnerable group of older people and their possibly unmet care needs.

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  • Marta Pittavino & Bruno Arpino & Elena Pirani, 2024. "Kinlessness at older ages: Prevalence and heterogeneity in 27 countries," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2024_02, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    • Handle: RePEc:fir:econom:wp2024_02
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    1. Saverio Minardi, 2025. "Sociodemographic variation in family structures and geographic proximity between adult children and parents in Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 52(25), pages 849-868.
    2. Brown, Susan L. & Lin, I-Fen & Marino, Francesca A. & Mellencamp, Kagan A., 2026. "Kinlessness, sole family survivorship, and the mental and physical health of U.S. older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 393(C).
    3. Mair, Christine A. & Ornstein, Katherine A., 2026. "Family structure, “Kinlessness”, and cognitive decline: Social connectedness and contextual variation in Europe," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 394(C).
    4. Vicki A. Freedman & Rachel Margolis & Ashton M. Verdery & Emily M. Agree & Esther M. Friedman, 2026. "The Future Availability of Family Caregivers: Implications for Late-Life Care Gaps," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 45(3), pages 1-20, June.
    5. Joe Butterick & Jason Hilton & Peter W F Smith & Jakub Bijak & Erengul Dodd, 2026. "Probabilistic projections of distributions of kin over the life course," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 54(9), pages 263-308.

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