Number of one-member households grows amid aging population: data

SEOUL, July 7 (Yonhap) -- The number of one-member households in South Korea jumped in 2010 compared to five years ago mainly due to the nation's fast-aging population, a report showed Thursday. The number of households composed of a single member totaled 4.14 million as of November last year, up from the 3.17 million tallied in 2005, according to the report by Statistics Korea. That represents 23.9 percent of the nation's total 17.34 million "ordinary" households, up 3.9 percentage points from five years ago. The figures are based on a census carried out every five years, the agency said. Ordinary households do not include people staying in dormitories and those households composed of only foreigners, the report explained. "The number and the ratio of one-member households here have hit the record high since related data is available," an official of the agency said. Those 70 or older made up the largest percentage, 19.2 percent, of the total single-member households, up from 17.3 percent in 2005, according to the report. The highest percentage of men in single-member households were in their 30s, while the highest percentage of women were over 70, the report showed. Meanwhile, the average number of members in a household fell to 2.69 last year from 2.88 in 2005, the report showed. The report noted that the average age of household breadwinners got older over the past five years from 46.7 to 49 last year. The ratio of woman-led households also rose from 21.9 percent to 25.9 percent. The number of multicultural households composed of at least one foreign member came to 387,000 last year, accounting for 2.2 percent of the total, according to the report. Its comparison figure is not available.