Single-living household in S. Korea to hit 40% in 2050, half lived be elderly

[Photo by Yonhap]

Half of a single-living household would be resided by an elder aged 65 or older while the traditional family of four would make a mere 6 percent of Korean families by 2050 to underscore South Korea¡¯s demographic woes from the fastest aging and lowest birth rate in the world.

According to the latest 30-year family forecast by Statistics Korea, a single-residing household would reach 9.05 million in 2050, representing 39.6 percent of the total households. Two-member family is estimated at 8.27 million for a 36.2 percent share.

The traditional family with children will rapidly thin. The number of households consisting of three and four members are expected to decrease to 3.8 million (16.6 percent) and 1.43 million (6.2 percent), respectively.

The proportion of single-person households aged over 65 will almost triple to 4.67 million in 2050 from 1.62 million in 2020, taking up 51.6 percent of all one-person households. The number of householders aged over 65 will cross the mark of 10 million in 2039 and will further increase to 11.37 million in 2050, Statistics Korea projected.

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