The number of young people aged 19 to 39 who moved to Seoul from outside the area has increased for three consecutive years. However, the net inflow of young people has been decreasing for three years in a row.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government released the 'Seoul Special City Youth Statistics (2023)' on the 25th. This report analyzes the population, housing, employment, and health of young people residing in Seoul, marking the first time the city has published such statistics.
According to key items, the population of young residents in Seoul is estimated to be 2.86 million as of 2023, accounting for 30.5% of the total population of the city.
The net inflow of young people to Seoul increased for three consecutive years, with 31,551 in 2022, 27,704 in 2023, and 15,420 in 2024. Net inflow indicates that the number of new residents exceeds the number of those leaving. This means more young people came to Seoul than left. The opposite case is referred to as net outflow.
As of 2023, approximately 262,000 young people moved to Seoul from other regions. The primary reason for relocation was employment, with 122,000 citing this reason. This was followed by family (49,000) and education (40,000). Approximately 235,000 young people left Seoul for other regions, with their reasons for leaving cited as family (82,000), employment (67,000), and dwellings (49,000).
As of 2022, households headed by young people totaled 1.2 million, accounting for 29.3% of all households in Seoul (totaling 4.09 million). Among these, the proportion of young single-person households was highest at 64.48%. In terms of gender, young single-person households led by women (70.61%) outnumbered those led by men (59.06%) by more than 10 percentage points.
More than 44% of young households are reported to reside in small dwellings of less than 50 square meters. Additionally, living arrangements are diversifying from single-family homes and apartments to multi-family dwellings and officetels.
The economically active population of young people in Seoul is estimated to be about 2.08 million as of 2023. Of these, approximately 1.98 million are employed. The most common form of enterprise where young people work is corporate entities (58%), with firms having more than 300 employees (39.9%) being the most common.
Kang Ok-hyun, director of the Digital City Department of Seoul, noted, "We will utilize the analyzed statistics as basic data for policy formulation to identify and advance policies and projects that are essential for the lives of young people more effectively."