S. Korean young people’s reluctance of marriage grows stronger in 2022

SEOUL, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) — South Korean young people’s reluctance of marriage grew stronger in 2022 compared to the previous year, statistical office data showed Tuesday.
Among youths aged 25-39, those with spouses accounted for 33.7 percent of the total population in the age group in 2022, down 2.4 percentage points from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.
The 2022 figure was much lower than the 38.5 percent tallied in 2020.
The proportion of young women with husbands stood at 40.4 percent in 2022, far higher than 27.5 percent for men with wives in the age group.
The young people became increasingly reluctant to get married and have children amid the economic uncertainties such as high housing prices, stubborn unemployment and high education costs.
Of the young married couples, 74.7 percent had children in 2022, lower than 75.6 percent in 2021 and 76.6 percent in 2020.
The proportion of those aged 25-39, who had no spouses and lived together with parents, came to 50.6 percent in 2022, down 1.3 percentage points from the previous year. ■