Volume 2 of the 10th Edition in 2052 Focuses on Single Elderly Households

In 28 years, it is expected that 2 out of 10 households will be elderly single-person households. Households consisting of two spouses will also increase to 2 out of 10 households.

According to the 'Future Household Projections: 2022-2052' released by Statistics Korea on the 12th, the total number of households is projected to increase from 21.664 million in 2022 to 24.372 million in 2041, then decline to 23.277 million by 2052.

The average household size is expected to gradually decrease from 2.26 persons in 2022 to 1.81 persons in 2052.

By 2052, single-person households and couple-only households are expected to increase, while couple households with children are expected to decrease.

The proportion of single-person households will rise significantly from 34.1% in 2022 to 41.3% in 2052, and couple households will also increase from 17.3% to 22.8%. In contrast, couple households with children will decrease from 27.3% to 17.4%.

In 28 years, it is projected that 4 out of 10 households will be single-person households, and 2 out of 10 households will be couple-only households.

Lim Young-il, head of the Population Trends Division at Statistics Korea, explained, "The increase in couple households is analyzed to be due to the rise in the elderly population, leading to more elderly couple households."

By 2052, the age group of household heads in their 70s is expected to be the largest at 36.9%. This is due to a decrease in couple households aged 60 and below and an increase in couple households aged 70 and above.

Households headed by elderly persons aged 65 and over will increase 2.3 times from 5.225 million in 2022 to 11.788 million in 2052. The proportion of elderly households will significantly rise to more than half (50.6%) of all households in 2052.

Among elderly households, single-person households are expected to increase 2.6 times from 1.923 million (36.8%) in 2022 to 4.961 million (42.1%) in 2052. It is projected that 21.3% of all households in 2052 will be elderly living alone.