How do most people in Malaga province live? Is it alone, as a couple or with other family members?

A recent survey has revealed precisely how the people of Malaga province live. Is it alone, as a couple, or with their extended family? It is true that single-person households are on the increase, in line with changes in the customs and habits of Spanish and Western societies as a whole. Nevertheless, those who live with several companions are holding out, preserving a tradition more associated with Mediterranean areas.

In Malaga province there were 701,905 households on 1 July, according to the latest continuous population survey carried out by Spain's national institute of statistics (INE). This puts Malaga province in sixth place in terms of the number of households - in line with its ranking in terms of population behind Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante and Seville. On average, there are 2.52 members in each Malaga home, a figure slightly above the national average, where there are 2.5 individuals per household, while it is below that of two other Andalusian provinces, Almería and Seville, where each household is made up of 2.61 people on average. Only in Ceuta and Melilla are there more than three members per household. In no case are there fewer than two people per household: the lowest figure is in Zamora, with 2.14.

Underlying this Malaga average is an interesting and somewhat unusual reality: more than half of the households, almost 52%, are made up of either one person or four or more. Likewise, if single-person households are the fastest growing (by 7.5% since 2021, rising from 182,381 to almost 195,800), the most populated households also continue to increase (by 1.32% in the same period, close to 167,500). The latter is almost an oddity in the wider Spanish context.

In other words, single-person households are the fastest growing in Malaga province. The choice, or the obligation, to live alone is occurring more frequently, especially among younger people who can afford to pay the rent alone with their salary in Malaga. For example, technology workers from other countries, middle-aged inhabitants (especially men who have separated from their partners as women tend to stay with the children) or older people who are left alone because they have been widowed, especially women in this case.

Still, the larger households in Malaga and, therefore, the people who live with at least three other people, either by choice or obligation, are staying put and thriving too. In fact, these are the two types of households that are growing more in Malaga than in the Spanish average.

Single-person households have increased in Spain as a whole at a rate of 6.65% in the last three years - one point less than in the province. Meanwhile, those with four or more members have increased in Spain at a rate of only 0.45%, while the growth in Malaga province (1.4%) is three times that figure. Large family households seem to be more resilient in Malaga than in other areas, in view of the fact that in 35 provinces this level of cohabitatation is shrinking. In Zamora, for example, there are now 7% fewer such households than three years ago. Similarly in Jaén and Córdoba, the decrease since summer 2021 exceeds 6%.

In any case, the total number of households in Malaga also shows a higher growth rate than the Spanish average: since 2021, they have increased by 5%, compared to the 3.75% increase recorded at national level, where they total 19.37 million. This is also consistent with a demographic growth that is also more dynamic in Malaga than in the country as a whole. In the last three years, the Spanish population has increased by 3%, while Malaga's population has risen by almost 4.5%.

So, let's take these household types one by one. In Malaga on 1 July there were 195,794 single-person households, so that figure matches the quantity of people living alone. This is now almost the most common way of living as the only household format that just exceeds it is that of two-person households, which is close to 200,000. It is well above the three-member household category, which currently numbers less than 139,000. Lastly, it also surpasses households with four or more members, which are limited to 167,453.

Therefore, single-person households in Malaga represent almost 28% of the total number of households in the province, a figure that is around the Spanish average (28.14% with a total of 5.45 million), but which is far from the figures found in most of the provinces of Castile and León, such as Zamora, Ávila, Soria, León, Salamanca or Burgos, where single-person households exceed 35% in total. In contrast, in Murcia and Seville, single-member households do not even account for 25% of the total, and in Ceuta and Melilla they barely account for 20%.

Another curiosity: Malaga is the sixth most populated province and occupies the same position in the Spanish ranking for total number of households. But it jumps to fifth place in terms of the number of people living alone, overtaking Seville.

What about households of at least four people? In Malaga province they number 167,453, which represents an increase of 1.32% over the last three years, bucking the trend in the rest of the country. This typology represents almost 24% of the total number of households in the province, a far cry from figures close to 40% in Melilla and Ceuta or 30% in Murcia. But in Zamora, Asturias, Ourense, León and Salamanca they barely account for 15% of the total. The latter are provinces in which the typical household made up of a couple and two children is losing ground.

As for Malaga's place in the ranking by number of households with four or more people, it drops to seventh place - as opposed to sixth place that would correspond to it in terms of population and total number of households. In addition to the usual Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante and Seville, Murcia also joins the list. In any case, households with four or more members in Malaga only outnumber those with three members, which as of 1 July 2024 numbered 138,738.