One out of Three Households in Gyeonggi-do is a 'Single-Person Household'

Statistics on Single-Person Households in Gyeonggi-do

One in three households in Gyeonggi Province was identified as a 'single-person household.'

According to the '2024 Gyeonggi Province Single-Person Household Statistics' announced by Gyeonggi Province on the 4th, as of the end of November last year, the number of single-person households in the province was counted at 1,715,000, an increase of 80,000 households compared to the previous year (1,630,000). This accounts for 31.2% of the total households (5.5 million) in Gyeonggi Province. Additionally, 21.9% of the nation's single-person households reside in Gyeonggi Province.

The number and proportion of single-person households in Gyeonggi Province have been increasing annually. Notably, since surpassing Seoul in 2020, it has ranked first nationwide every year.

Among cities and counties, Suwon-si had the highest proportion of single-person households relative to residents at 10.5%. This was followed by Seongnam-si (7.6%), Goyang-si (7.4%), Hwaseong-si (7.0%), and Yongin-si (6.2%).

Regarding the ratio of single-person households to total households by city and county, Yeoncheon-gun had the highest at 38.6%, followed by Gapyeong-gun (38.5%) and Dongducheon-si (37.1%). Conversely, Gwacheon-si (18.0%), Uiwang-si (24.0%), and Namyangju-si (25.1%) had relatively lower ratios.

The duration of living as a single-person household was most commonly '5 to less than 10 years,' accounting for 30.3%. '10 to less than 20 years' and '3 to less than 5 years' accounted for 26.4% and 16.1%, respectively. Compared to 2020, the '5 to less than 10 years' category increased by 13.8 percentage points, while 'less than 1 year' and '1 to less than 3 years' decreased by 6.7 percentage points and 5.1 percentage points, respectively.

Regarding difficulties faced by single-person households, 4 out of 10 households cited 'balanced meals' (44.9%) and 'handling emergencies or illness alone' (42.6%).

Expenditures for single-person households were largely concentrated on housing costs (30.7%), food expenses (26.5%), and medical expenses (21.0%).

Leisure activities for single-person households were mainly focused on watching TV (57.2%) and resting activities (37.9%). Cultural and artistic viewing (17.7%) and tourism activities (8.9%) were 2.8 percentage points and 5.8 percentage points lower, respectively, compared to all households in the province.

Ahn Seung-man, Director of the Family Policy Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "Through the analysis of this statistical data, we were able to confirm the current status and various realities of single-person households in Gyeonggi Province," adding, "We will use this as basic data to prepare policies aimed at improving the quality of life for single-person households."

For this data analysis, Gyeonggi Province reclassified the status of single-person households into eight fields including population and households, housing, and leisure, based on six different statistics: the Population and Housing Census announced by Statistics Korea at the end of last month, the Family Status Survey by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and the Social Survey of Gyeonggi Province.

Meanwhile, this year, Gyeonggi Province will invest a total of 880.7 billion KRW in 39 projects for single-person households in the province, including the Single-Person Household Hospital Safety Escort Project, the Single-Person Household Free Topic Proposal Project, the development and distribution of a Single-Person Household Housing Safety Checklist, and the operation of a Single-Person Household Policy Participation Section.