SEOUL-- The number of newly married couples in South Korea fell short of 1 million for the second consecutive year in 2024, with nearly half remaining childless, government data showed Friday.
There were 952,000 newlyweds here last year, down 2.3 percent from 974,000 couples the previous year, according to the data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. "Newlyweds" refer to couples who have been married for five years or less.
The figure dipped below 1 million in 2023 for the first time since the ministry began compiling such data in 2015.
Despite the overall drop, there was a slight increase in the number of couples in their first and second year of marriage in 2024, rising 9.8 percent on-year and 2.9 percent on-year, respectively.
Of the newlywed couples in 2024, 51.2 percent had children, down 1.3 percentage points from a year earlier, the data showed.
South Korea has been struggling with a low birthrate and aging population, as many young people opt to postpone or give up on getting married or having babies in line with changing social norms and lifestyles, as well as in the face of high home prices, a tough job market and an economic slowdown.
In 2024, the total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, rebounded for the first time in nine years, reaching 0.75.
