The proportion of one-person or two-person households in South Korea is expected to represent up to three-quarters of the population in 2047.

Statistics Korea said on Wednesday that the number of one-person households is forecast to jump from 28-point-five percent recorded in 2017 to 37-point-three percent by 2047.

The percentage of two-person households is expected to increase from 26-point-seven percent in 2017 to 35 percent by 2047 as well.

In explaining their projections, the agency cited an increasing number of people delaying marriage or foregoing marriage altogether due to difficulties in finding jobs, maintaining jobs with children and the high cost of living amid a prolonged economic slowdown.

The rapidly aging population with a rising number of elderly people living alone is another factor contributing to the outlook.

Meanwhile, the number of three- or four-person households, mostly consisting of parents and children, are forecast to drastically decline, from 31-point-four percent in 2017 to 16-point-three percent in 2047.