'NahonSan' Nears 8 Million... Most Single-Person Households Are Aged 70 and Over
by Lee Eunjoo
Published 09 Dec.2024 12:00(KST)
Updated 09 Dec.2024 14:25(KST)
Presentation on Single-Person Households Through Statistics
Last year, the number of single-person households approached 8 million, with those aged 70 and older making up the largest proportion. The number of employed single-person households increased by 120,000 compared to the previous year.
According to the “2024 Single-Person Household Statistics” released by Statistics Korea on the 9th, the number of single-person households last year was 7,829,000, accounting for 35.5% of all households. Single-person households surpassed 7 million for the first time in 2021, and last year recorded the highest number and proportion ever.
By age group, single-person households aged 70 and older accounted for the largest share at 19.1%. This was followed by those aged 29 and under at 18.6%, those in their 60s at 17.3%, and those in their 30s at 17.3%. A year earlier, those aged 29 and under accounted for 19.2%, making them the largest group, but the ranking has since reversed.
The longest duration of living alone was 5 to less than 10 years at 28.3%, followed by 10 to less than 20 years (24.0%) and 1 to less than 3 years (16.5%). The main reason for living alone was the death of a spouse at 31.9%. Other reasons included personal studies or work (22.4%) and wanting to live alone (14.3%).
As of October last year, the number of employed single-person households was 4,675,000, an increase of 120,000 from the previous year. By age, the proportions were highest among those aged 50 to 64 (26.5%), those in their 30s (23.3%), and those aged 15 to 29 (19.4%).
The annual income of single-person households was 32.23 million KRW, a 7.1% increase from the previous year, which was 44.9% of the total household income (71.85 million KRW). The average monthly consumption expenditure of single-person households in 2023 was 1.63 million KRW, which was 58.4% of the 2.792 million KRW for all households. In 2024, the assets of single-person households amounted to 212.17 million KRW, representing 39.3% of the total household assets (540.22 million KRW).
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