Next Year, Two-Person Households to Surpass 30% for the First Time...Will Outnumber Combined Three- and Four-Person Households

Starting next year, two-person households will account for more than 30% of all households. The number of two-person households will exceed the combined total of traditional three-person and four-person households. The shift toward smaller households is accelerating, driven by an increase in elderly couple households as South Korea enters a super-aged society, as well as demographic and social changes such as low birth rates, increased singlehood, and delayed marriage.

According to household projections released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on October 6, the total number of households nationwide next year is expected to reach 22,806,529, an increase of 208,852 households (0.9%) compared to this year’s 22,597,677.

By household size, one-person and two-person households will both increase, whereas all households with three or more members will decrease. One-person households, the largest group, are expected to reach 8,553,012 next year, an increase of 193,648 from this year. Their share of all households will rise to 37.5%. Two-person households are projected to reach 6,890,161, up 139,300 from this year. Their share will reach 30.2%, surpassing the 30% mark for the first time.

On the other hand, three-person households will decrease by 14,953 to 4,120,965 (18.1%), four-person households will fall by 76,598 to 2,608,516 (11.4%), and households with five or more members are also expected to decline by 32,545 to 633,875 (2.8%).

As a result, there will be a structural reversal: the number of two-person households will exceed the combined number of three- and four-person households. Next year, the total for three- and four-person households will stand at 6,729,481 (29.5%), which is 160,680 fewer than two-person households. Until this year, the combined total of three- and four-person households (6,821,032, or 30.2%) was still higher than that of two-person households (6,750,861, or 29.9%), but next year, the ranking will be reversed.

The drivers of this shift are population aging and declining birth rates. In particular, an increase in elderly couple households, where children have moved out and only the couple remains, is leading the rise in two-person households. The proportion of two-person households headed by a person aged 65 or older is projected to rise next year to 44.3%, 1.3 percentage points higher than this year. Changes in family structures among young and middle-aged people are also having an impact. As singlehood and late marriage become more widespread, and as the number of DINKs (Dual Income, No Kids) increases, the types of two-person households are diversifying. Meanwhile, the number of traditional four-person households, typically consisting of two parents and two children, is rapidly declining due to the low birth rate.

This trend in household structure is expected to continue in the future. By 2052, the total number of households will increase to 23,277,470, with one-person households projected to account for 9,619,733 (41.3%) and two-person households for 8,260,944 (35.5%). Together, one- and two-person households will comprise 76.8% of the total, meaning that more than seven out of every ten households in South Korea will be either one- or two-person households.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.