Single-person households almost one-third of total

Almost a third of Korean households have just one person.

According to Statistics Korea, 31.7 percent of households in Korea were single-person households last year. The total number of households in this group was 6.6 million.

In 2019, the portion of one-person households broke 30 percent.

Of the single-person households, 19.1 percent were in their 20s and 16.8 percent in their 30s.

Of women living alone, 45.1 percent were 60 or older, and 35.2 percent were 30 to 59. Of men living alone, 22.2 percent were 60 or older, and 56.9 percent were 30 to 59.

"Men in their 30s, 40s and 50s were living alone mostly because of their jobs," said an official from Statistics Korea Wednesday.

"Women in their 30s, 40s and 50s, on the other hand, usually live with their children, which is why the percentage of female single-person households in that age range is low. After they lose their husbands, they tend to live alone and become a single-person households."

The employment rate for one-person households came to 59.6 percent as of October 2020, which is 1.2 percentage points lower than a year before. It means that four out of 10 single-person households are not working.

The employment rate for all households was 60.4 percent.

The average annual income for single-person households was 21.6 million won in 2019. For all types of households, average annual income was 59.2 million won.

As of last year, more than 40 percent of single-person households were living in the greater Seoul area. Twenty-one percent of the single-person households were living in Gyeonggi area and 20.9 percent in Seoul.

Of all single-person households, 44 percent lived in detached houses and 32 percent in apartments, while 51.5 percent of all households live in apartments.

BY CHO HYUN-SOOK [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]