Statistics Korea, 2023 Marriage and Divorce Statistics
The number of marriages, which had been postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic, increased, resulting in a rebound in the number of marriages last year for the first time in 12 years.
According to the '2023 Marriage and Divorce Statistics' released by Statistics Korea on the 19th, the number of marriages last year was 194,000, an increase of 1.0% (2,000 cases) compared to the previous year.
The annual number of marriages had been declining for 11 consecutive years since 2012. In particular, the number of marriages during the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020, 2021, and 2022 were 214,000, 193,000, and 192,000 respectively.
Statistics Korea explained, "The reason for the rebound in the number of marriages last year is due to marriages that had been postponed because of COVID-19 being concentrated in the first quarter of last year."
By age group, the number of marriages increased the most in the early 30s, which is the prime marriage age for both men and women. For men in their early 30s, marriages increased by 2,000 cases (2.7%), and for women in their early 30s, by 4,000 cases (5.8%).
The average age at first marriage was 34.0 years for men and 31.5 years for women, rising by 0.3 years for men and 0.2 years for women compared to the previous year.
During the same period, the number of divorces was 92,000, a decrease of 0.9% (800 cases) compared to the previous year. The divorce rate by age group (number of divorces per 1,000 people in the respective age group) was highest among men in their late 40s at 7.2 cases and women in their early 40s at 7.9 cases.
Last year, marriages with foreigners totaled 20,000, an increase of 3,000 cases (18.3%) compared to the previous year, and divorces involving foreigners were 6,000, an increase of 300 cases (5.1%) compared to the previous year.
The proportion of international marriages among all marriages was 10.2%, up 1.5 percentage points from the previous year. Statistics Korea explained that the increase in the proportion of international marriages last year is also attributed to the rise in marriages postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among marriages with foreigners, the proportion of marriages with foreign women was 74.6%, and with foreign men was 25.4%.
The nationalities of foreign women married to Korean men were mainly Vietnam (33.5%), China (18.1%), and Thailand (13.7%). Conversely, foreign men married to Korean women were mostly from the United States (27.7%), China (18.4%), and Vietnam (15.8%).
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