S. Korea’s number of marriages hits record low in 2022
SEOUL, March 16– South Korea’s number of marriages hit a fresh record low last year due to the changed perception of marriage and the reduced number of people of marriageable age, statistical office data showed Thursday. The number of marriages shed 0.4 percent over the year to 191,700 in 2022, marking the lowest since relevant data began to be compiled in 1970,…
SEOUL, March 16 (Xinhua) — South Korea’s number of marriages hit a fresh record low last year due to the changed perception of marriage and the reduced number of people of marriageable age, statistical office data showed Thursday.
The number of marriages shed 0.4 percent over the year to 191,700 in 2022, marking the lowest since relevant data began to be compiled in 1970, according to Statistics Korea.
The figure continued to fall for the 11th consecutive year on the lower number of people aged 25-49 in the country where the younger generation refrained from getting married and having babies amid the high housing prices, the high cost to bring up children and the high youth unemployment.
The average age for men tying the knot for the first time rose 0.4 over the year to hit a record high of 33.7 in 2022, while the age for women added 0.2 to reach a new high of 31.3.
The number of people who got married to foreign spouses jumped 27.2 percent to 16,700 last year.
Meanwhile, the number of divorces decreased 8.3 percent from a year earlier to 93,200 in 2022, keeping a downward trend for the third successive year.
The average age for men getting divorced shrank 0.2 to 49.9 last year, and the age for women slipped 0.1 to 46.6. Enditem
