Anchor: The number of single-person households in the country reached an all-time high of over ten million last month, a surge spurred by a rapidly aging population and a growing number of people opting to stay single. 
Emma Sparkes has more. 

Report: The number of one-person households in the country stood at a record ten-million-21-thousand in March, up from over nine-million-980-thousand in February, meaning roughly one in every five people in the nation now lives alone. 

The figure accounts for almost 42 percent of some 24 million households in total, according to resident registration data released by the interior ministry on Tuesday.

By age group, those in their 60s accounted for the highest number of single-person households, with one-point-85 million living alone, followed by one-point-68 million people in their 30s.

The data also showed a larger proportion of people living alone in highly populated areas such as Gyeonggi Province, which had two-point-25 million one-person households, and Seoul, which had two million.

Two-person households increased by about 20-thousand on-month to reach five-point-91 million in March, while the number of four-person households dropped by around ten-thousand to reach three-point-11-million in the same period.

The number of single-person households is determined based on the number of people registered at an address. If two people are married but live separately due to work circumstances, they will be registered as two single-person households.

The government attributed the growth in single-person households to the increase in the number of elderly people living alone and the uptick in younger people opting to stay single, adding that it will come up with pledges to ensure that they have stable housing options.
Emma Sparkes, KBS World Radio News.