Anchor: Once a minority, single people living alone now make up the most common type of household in South Korea. Government data released Tuesday showed single-person households accounted for around 36 percent of all households in 2024, the highest ever.
Rosyn Park reports.

Report: There were eight million 45-thousand single-person households last year, accounting for 36-point-one percent of the country's total households, up zero-point-six percentage points from a year earlier.

According to an annual survey conducted by the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the proportion of single-person households has reached new highs every year since exceeding 30 percent in 2019 and 35 percent in 2023.

This is due in part to declining marriage rates among young people and an aging population.

Those 70 or older accounted for the largest share of single-person households, accounting for 19-point-eight percent, followed by those 29 or younger at 17-point-eight percent, with 60-somethings and 30-somethings trailing closely behind.

Seoul had the highest proportion of single-person households at 39-point-nine percent, followed closely by Daejeon at 39-point-eight percent and Gangwon Province at 39-point-four percent.

The average yearly income of people who live alone came to 34-point-23 million won, or just over 23-thousand-200 U.S. dollars, up six-point-two percent from a year earlier, but still sharply lower than the overall household average of 74-point-27 million won.

The survey also showed that 53-point-six percent of all single-person households made less than 30 million won, or about 20-thousand-380 dollars, per year.

Meanwhile, nearly 49 percent of those who live alone said they often or sometimes feel lonely, significantly higher than the 38-point-two percent rate among the overall population.
Rosyn Park, KBS World Radio News.