Single-person households comprise around 1/3 of all S. Korean households, study finds

Posted on : 2020-07-12 18:21 KST Modified on : 2020-07-12 20:04 KST
Elderly people are largest group of single-person households
S. Korea's population is decreasing, but no. of households has increased
S. Korea's population is decreasing, but no. of households has increased

Nearly 8,770,000 South Korean households, or roughly a third, are single-person households, a study shows. The addition of two-person households brings the total to 61.6%, or well over half, in what analysts are viewing as a signal of accelerating changes toward smaller household sizes.

On July 8, the Minister of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) announced findings from an analysis of current conditions in the registered resident population and households as of late June 2020. The total registered resident population stood at 51,839,408 people, down by 10,453 from the 51,849,861 counted in late 2019. In contrast, the number of registered resident households was at a historical high of 22,791,531, an increase of 310,065 from 22,481,466 in late 2019.

The trend was attributed to rises in the numbers of single- and two-person households. The results showed a historically high total of 8,768,414 single-person households (38.5%), with 5,268,211 two-person households (23.1%), 4,015,801 three-person households (17.6%), 3,591,843 four-person households (15.8%), and 1,147,262 households consisting of five or more people (5.0%). A comparison with 2008 levels showed a 46.1% rate of increase for single-person households and 47.6% rate of increase for two-person households.

By age group, the largest number of single-person households consisted of people aged 70 or older at 19.1% (1,673,063), followed by people aged 50-59 at 18.1% (1,585,989), people aged 60-69 at 16.9% (1,481,947), people aged 30-39 at 16.1% (1,408,924), people aged 20 and under at 15.2% (1,329,770) and people aged 40-49 at 14.7% (1,288,721). Male single-person households outnumbered female ones by a margin of 51.5% to 48.5%, but the figures also showed the number of female single-person households increasing for those aged 60 and up.

In 2008, the proportion of four-person households stood at 22.4%, second only to single-person households. The latest figures showed it declining to 15.8%, putting it behind even three-person households (17.6%). The overall average number of persons per household totaled 2.27.

By Ock Kee-won, staff reporter

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