The number of newlywed couples who have been married for less than five years fell below the '1 million' mark for the first time last year. While the number of newlyweds having children decreased, those who own dwellings increased.
Statistics Korea announced on the 10th through '2023 Newlywed Statistics' that the number of newlywed couples who have not been married for more than five years was counted as 974,000 pairs last year. This figure is a 5.6% decrease from the previous year and is the 'lowest ever' since the related statistics were first compiled in 2015. The number decreased in all 17 provinces and metropolitan areas nationwide compared to the previous year.
However, the increase in newlywed couples in their first year of marriage is hopeful. Their number was 191,175 pairs, marking a 2.9% increase from the previous year, showing an upward trend for the first time since these statistics were compiled.
Among all first-marriage newlywed couples, 47.5% did not have children, nearly half of the total. This is an increase of 1.1 percentage points from the previous year, reaching an all-time high. On the other hand, the proportion of first-marriage newlyweds with children peaked at 60% in 2018 but has been continuously decreasing, standing at 52.5% last year. The average number of children among first-marriage newlyweds was 0.63, a decrease of 0.02 from the previous year’s 0.65.
Newlyweds seem to be focusing more on economic activities instead of having children. The proportion of dual-income couples among first-marriage newlyweds was 58.2%, a 1 percentage point increase from the previous year. The dual-income rate was highest in the first year of marriage at 61.8%, but as the years of marriage increased, the dual-income rate decreased, reaching 54.9% for those in their fifth year of marriage.
The annual average income of first-marriage newlyweds was 72.65 million won, a 7% increase from the previous year’s 67.90 million won. The average income for dual-income first-marriage newlyweds was 89.72 million won, while for single-income couples it was 53.69 million won.
Of these, the proportion of newlyweds where at least one owns dwellings was recorded at 40.8%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the previous year. The proportion of first-marriage newlyweds owning dwellings had been continuously increasing from 2015 to 2018, then decreased until 2022. The shift to an increasing trend in dwelling ownership is the first in five years since 2018.
The proportion of first-marriage newlyweds with loans from financial institutions was 87.8%, a decrease of 1.2 percentage points from the previous year. The proportion with loans has been on a downward trend for the second consecutive year since 2021. However, the median balance of loans increased by 6.34 million won, from 164.17 million won in the previous year to 170.51 million won.
Statistics Korea explained, 'The proportion of newlyweds with loans decreased due to the impact of high interest rates, but large loans increased due to support for dwelling-related loans such as the Didimdol and Bogeumjari loans.'