China's Loneliness Economy Expands Amid Rising Solo Households

Analysts state a new wave of products and services addresses the safety, social, and mental health needs of China’s rapidly growing solo-living population. The number of people living alone in the country is skyrocketing.

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This issue gained public attention when the check-in app Are You Dead?, known "死了么" in Chinese, briefly topped paid app charts in mainland China and other markets. Its success revealed the scale of China’s vast, expanding solo economy.

Are You Dead? requires users to confirm their safety by tapping a button. If a user fails to respond for more than 48 hours, the app sends an alert to a designated emergency contact. It has been removed from Apple’s AppStore in mainland China but remains available elsewhere as Demumu.

The app’s popularity, despite a debate over its name, highlights a structural shift in Chinese society. Millions more people now live by themselves, often distant from family networks, facing economic pressure and weakening social ties.

Analysts consider the app significant for revealing the scale of this long-underserved market.

“This is a manifestation of collective loneliness turning into structural demand,” stated Zhao Zhijiang, a researcher at the Beijing-based think tank Anbound. Zhijiang added that the public and market are confronting loneliness-related safety risks that are increasingly real.

The National Bureau of Statistics reported that nearly 20% of China’s population lived in single-person households in 2024. A Beike Research Institute report projects this figure to exceed 30% by the end of the decade, representing between 150 million and 200 million people.

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* China's solo-living population is rapidly increasing.

* A "loneliness economy" is emerging, offering products and services for safety, social, and mental health needs.

* The check-in app Are You Dead? revealed the significant scale of this previously underserved market.

* Nearly 20% of China’s population resided in single-person households in 2024.

* This figure is projected to exceed 30% by the end of the decade, affecting up to 200 million people.

Source: SCMP