The percentage of single men and women in their 30s in South Korea who have never married surpassed half of this age group last year, reaching 51.3%. This rise reflects a steady decline in marriage rates since the 2000s, as more people opt to remain single. As a result, one in two people in their 30s—traditionally seen as the prime age for marriage and childbearing—now remains unmarried. In Seoul, the unmarried rate among 30-somethings was the highest in the nation, at 62.8%.
According to comprehensive findings of the “Population and Housing Census” released by Statistics Korea on Oct. 30, 28% of the 42.05 million South Koreans aged 20 and over as of Nov. 1 last year, or 11.78 million individuals, were unmarried. By gender, 34.2% of men were single, compared to 24.9% of women, marking a 9.3 percentage point difference.
Statistics Korea calculated these figures using administrative data, including resident registration records, to address the country’s population challenges better. This release marks the first time data on unmarried rates by age group and region on a yearly basis, rather than at the five-year intervals used in previous surveys. In earlier surveys, the unmarried rate for those aged 20 and older rose from 22.2% in 2000 to 27.1% in 2020.
By age group, the unmarried rate was highest among those in their 20s at 95.2%, followed by individuals in their 30s (51.3%), 40s (20%), 50s (9.6%), and those over 60 (3.4%). Since the 2000s, the unmarried rate has increased steadily across all age groups, with the rise among those in their 30s being particularly notable. In 2000, when marriage before 30 was still common, the unmarried rate for this age group was only 13.4%. By 2015, it had reached the 30% range (35.3%), the 40% range by 2020 (42.5%), and for the first time last year, exceeded 50%. Among those in their 30s, the unmarried rate for men was 59.7%, while for women, it was 42.2%. A representative from Statistics Korea noted that “the rise in the average age of marriage in recent years has contributed to the higher unmarried rate among those in their 30s, as more people are choosing to marry later in life.”
