Number of marriages in South Korea hits lowest point since 1974

Posted on : 2017-03-26 09:04 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Decline in marriage age population combining with youth unemployment and lack of housing to reduce number of marriages

The number of marriages in South Korea totaled just over 280,000 last year, its lowest level since 1974.

The phenomenon resulted from a combination of factors, including a decline in the typical marrying age population amid a general aging trend, youth unemployment, and difficulties finding housing.

A report on 2016 marriage and divorce statistics published on Mar. 22 by Statistics Korea put the total number of marriages last year at 281,600. The number was down 7% from the year before and the lowest since 1974, when the total was 259,100. It also marked the first time since 1976 that the number of total marriages in a year came in below 300,000. The rate of decline was the steepest since the post-foreign exchange crisis year of 2000. The crude marriage rate, referring to the number of marriages per 1,000 people, fell to 5.5, its lowest level since statistics were first compiled in 1970.

Number of marriages and crude marriage rate
Number of marriages and crude marriage rate

A complex combination of factors have been implicated in the steep decline in marriages, including demographic structure issues, social and economic conditions, and changing perceptions. To begin with, the actual population at typical marrying ages has been falling: the total number of South Koreans in their late twenties and early thirties was down by more than 2% last year for both women and men. The rise in youth unemployment has also continued. Last year, youth unemployment was at its second highest level ever since statistics on it were first tallied in 1999. Continued problems with finding housing and jobs have further resulted in changing perceptions of marriage. Findings from social surveys published every two years have shown a rapid decline in the percentages of respondents in their twenties agreeing that they “must” or “should” marry, from 59.3% in 2010 to 57.7% in 2012, 51.2% in 2014, and 42% in 2016.

“The children of baby boomers generation, born between 1979 and 1982, has reached their late thirties, when the marriage rate is low, and the first real low birth rate generation born after 1983 is reaching typical marrying age, which has led to a steady decline in the population in that age group,” said Lee Ji-yeon, head of Statistics Korea’s population rend division.

“Social and economic factors causing a decline in marriage, including a poor economy and youth unemployment, appear to be combining with changing perceptions of marriage to exert a complex influence,” Lee said.

As the marriage rate continues to decline, some are predicting that by 2025, one out of ten 50-year-old women (those born in 1975) will have lived the single life. The “single living rate” in demographics refers to the percentage of people who have not married by the age of 50. According to a Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA) report titled “Changing Forms of Marriage and Childbearing and a Paradigm Shift in Low Birth Rate Countermeasures,” the single living rate among women remained below 1% at 0.5% in 1990 and 0.7% in 1995, before rapidly rising from 1.3% in 2000 to 1.9% in 2005 and 2.5% in 2010. The report predicted that if the current trend continues, the rate will reach 7.1% in 2020 and 10.5% in 2025.

The divorce rate continued to decline last year since peaking in 2003. Total divorces last year numbered 107,300, down by 1,800 (-1.7%) from 2015. But a clear rise in divorce among senior citizens was also observed - an apparent reflection of the recent trend of “twilight divorces” and “marriage graduation” (couples who remain legally married but live separately). Among males, divorces were down from 2015 for most age groups below 55, but increased by 300 and 600, respectively, for the populations aged 55-60 and over 60. Among females, the only rises in divorce were seen among those aged 55-60, over 60, and 45-49.

Continued rises were seen in the marriage duration for divorced couples and average age at the time of divorce. The average divorcing age last year was 47.2 for men and 43.6 for women - nearly 10 years higher than the respective averages of 38.6 and 34.8 recorded 20 years earlier in 1996. Marriage duration at the time of divorce averaged 14.7 years, up 2.6 years from the 12.1 recorded in 2006.

By Noh Hyun-woong, staff reporter and Kim Yang-joong, medical correspondent

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