Overview
- The FReDA Winter 2024/25 panel, publicized in late June, found about 21% of 21–30‑year‑olds feel strongly lonely, 14% of 31–54‑year‑olds report strong loneliness, and 34% of adults 21–54 report at least some loneliness.
- BiB researchers say the high rates have changed little since the COVID‑19 pandemic and describe loneliness among Generation Z as an enduring psychosocial burden.
- The Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung announced it will join the federal Allianz gegen Einsamkeit to raise public awareness and provide scientific foundations for policy action.
- Experts point to life transitions, precarious living conditions, social insecurity and overlapping crises as drivers, and women reported loneliness slightly more often than men (36% versus 32%).
- Coverage links chronic loneliness to higher risk of depression, anxiety and physical illness and stresses scaled responses such as community programs, clinical support and continued FReDA monitoring to guide policy.