BBC News Statistics

New statistics have turned the image of single people living on their own as women like Bridget Jones on its head.


There are now more single men in their thirties than women, according to researchers at Edinburgh University.


Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the number of men choosing to remain single and live alone has reached record levels.


Between the ages of 25 and 44, men have been found to be twice as likely as women to live by themselves.
The lifestyle of the reluctant female singleton was shown in Helen Fielding's best-seller Bridget Jones's Diary and its sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.


But in the real world there are more than 1.65 million men aged between 30 and 39 who are single in the UK - up more by than 50,000 from last year. Compared to 1.27 million women in the same age range, making "Brad Jones" the new Bridget.
Overall men below retirement age are five per cent more likely to live alone.
Singletons - male or female - are said to drink more than married people because they socialise more.
They work longer hours because they have no partner to make time for, and they often end up skipping meals like breakfast and eating unhealthy meals on the go.
They also have to cope with more worries, the survey suggests, because they do not have an emotional confidante with whom to share their problems.


The statistics were the initial findings of a study into solo living as a growing social trend at the university's Centre for Research on Families and Relationships.


The rise of the single household has escalated in the last decade, with the percentage of single households trebling since the 1970s and doubling again since the mid-80s.
Adam Smith, who undertook the research with Professor Lynn Jamieson and Dr Fran Wasoff, said: "Solo living affects city populations in particular where single professionals often choose to settle and take advantage of a metropolitan lifestyle.
"What we regard as 'the norm' is changing and this has implications for families, relationships, as well as working and housing arrangements."