Single-living household is expected to become a norm all across South Korea by 2026 instead of current typical family of three or four due to rapidly aging population and tendency of suspending getting married or having kids.

According to Statistics Korea on Tuesday, the number of most typical households consisting of at least three members including parents and children is expected to reach 3.541 million in 2045, accounting for 15.9 percent of the total families. The figure is a significant decline from 6.132 million multi-member households in 2015 that accounted for 32.3 percent of the total.

The number of one-person households, on the other hand, is projected to increase significantly from 5.18 million to 8.098 million over the same period, accounting for 36.3 percent of the total.

Statistics Korea said that single-member households will be the most common type of households across the country in 2019, accounting for 29.1 percent of the total families, and in 2026, make up for the largest proportion in all 17 cities and provinces.

In 2000, the most common type of households across the country consisted of at least three or more family members with parents and children, said Lee Ji-yeon, head of demographic trends at Statistics Korea. The number of one-person households, however, has been on a steady rise amid the aging population and low birth rate, she added.

Korea, in fact, has seen a growing number of elderly in its population. When looking into the age group of one-person households, in 2015, 36.9 percent were in their 30s, accounting for the largest portion of households, followed by 33.2 percent in their 40s and 50s, and 30 percent in their 60s and older. In 2045, however, single-member households with homeowners aged over 60 are expected to account for 54 percent of the total, with the figure exceeding 60 percent in six regions including South Jeolla, North Gyeongsang, and North Jeolla.

By Boo Jang-won

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