It was found that 3,924 people died in lonely deaths last year. The number of lonely death fatalities increased by more than 7% from a year earlier. Middle-aged men in their 50s and 60s accounted for a large share.
According to the 2024 lonely death status survey results released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 27th, the number of deaths from lonely deaths last year was tallied at 3,924, an increase of 263 (7.2%) from a year earlier (3,661).
The number of lonely death fatalities per 100,000 of the total population rose from 7.2 in 2023 to 7.7 in 2024. In addition, the number of lonely death fatalities per 100 total deaths also increased from 1.04 in 2023 to 1.09 in 2024.
It was found that most lonely death fatalities were men (81.7%). The rate is more than about five times higher than women (15.4%). By age group, the rates were highest among those in their 60s (32.4%), 50s (30.5%), and 40s (13%). Woo Gyeong-mi, Director of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Community Welfare Division, said, "Middle-aged men often cannot honestly express their difficulties to those around them because of pride," and noted, "It is also presumed that problems such as job loss or divorce played a part."
The share of suicides among lonely death fatalities was 13.4%, down from 14.1% a year earlier. However, lonely deaths due to suicide were concentrated among younger people, including those in their 20s or younger (57.4%), 30s (43.3%), and 40s (25.7%). Director Woo said, "For young people, issues such as academic stress or prolonged unemployment appear to have an impact."
By city and province, Gyeonggi, Seoul, and Busan had the most lonely death fatalities, in that order. Director Woo explained, "In addition to the fact that these areas have large populations, the growing share of one-person households vulnerable to lonely deaths in these regions also had an effect."
By place of occurrence, dwellings (48.9%) were the most common, followed by apartments (19.7%) and studio rooms and officetels (19.6%). The share of lonely deaths occurring in inns and motels (4.2%) and in goshiwon (4.8%) has been increasing over the past five years.
It was found that cases in which landlords (43.1%) or health and welfare service workers (7.7%) were the first discoverers and reporters have increased recently. In contrast, the share of cases involving family (26.6%) or acquaintances (7.1%) is on a downward trend.
Starting next year, the government plans to carry out a project to prevent lonely deaths by identifying those at risk of social isolation at an early stage and providing specialized services tailored to life stages, including youth, middle age, and older adults.