A latest study has found that the number of women deferring or giving up on having children has increased in South Korea amid a widening difference regarding the possibility of career gap between women with and without children.

According to a report by the state-run Korea Development Institute(KDI) on Tuesday, women without children had a 33 percent chance of experiencing a career gap as of 2014, while the percentage drastically fell to nine percent in 2023.

In contrast, the chance of a career gap among women with children slightly dropped from 27 percent in 2014 to 23 percent in 2023.

The KDI attributed the widened difference to a decline in the nation's total fertility rate, which is the average number of children that are born to a woman over her lifetime.

The institute said the number of women giving up on having children tended to rise with women's increased economic participation, noting a gender imbalance in child rearing responsibilities.