Korea's registered population is gradually decreasing, but the number of households is sharply increasing. This is due to the rise in one-person households. The number of one-person households was recorded to have exceeded 10 million for the first time last year.
On the 27th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety published the '2025 Administration and Safety Statistics Yearbook', which contains major changes in the lives of citizens. This includes comprehensive statistics across 8 areas: ▲ government organization ▲ administrative management ▲ digital government ▲ local administration ▲ local government finance ▲ safety policy ▲ disaster management, totaling 327 types of statistics. The previous year's statistics were based on data as of Dec. 31, 2024.
Last year's registered population was recorded at 51,217,221. The population has been decreasing for five consecutive years since peaking in 2019 at 51,849,861.
In contrast, the number of households has increased. Last year, the total number of households was 24,118,928, an increase of about 1.64 million compared to five years ago. This significant rise is largely due to the surge in one-person households. Last year, the number of one-person households was 10,122,587, an increase of approximately 163,000 compared to five years ago. The regions with the highest number of one-person households were Seoul and Gyeonggi, and the age groups with the largest numbers were those in their 70s, 60s, and 30s, respectively.
Regionally, the average population over five years has decreased in all areas except Incheon, Sejong, Gyeonggi, and Chungnam. The average age by province was highest in Jeonnam at 49.4 years. In contrast, Sejong recorded the lowest at 39.4 years, making it the youngest city, with a significant age gap compared to the second youngest, Gyeonggi, at 43.9 years.
The number of foreign residents is also on the rise. As of 2023, there were 2,459,542 foreign residents, marking a record high share (4.8%) of the total population. The proportion of foreign residents was higher in Gyeonggi, Chungbuk, Incheon, and Seoul, while it was lower in Busan, Daegu, Sejong, and Daejeon.
Meanwhile, changes due to recent abnormal climate patterns have also been observed. The total number of heatwave days last year was 30.1, significantly longer than in previous years: 7.7 days in 2020, 11.8 days in 2021, 10.6 days in 2022, and 14.2 days in 2023. Daegu recorded the longest heatwave duration at 53 days, followed by Daejeon with 43 days and Gwangju with 37 days. The number of heat-related illnesses increased from 1,078 in 2020 to 3,704 last year.
Last year, declarations of special disaster areas due to natural disasters included three instances: ▲ heavy rain from July 8 to 19, ▲ heavy rain from September 19 to 21, and ▲ heavy snow, strong winds, and rough seas from November 26 to 28. Declarations due to social disasters included the tragic incident at Muan International Airport on Dec. 29.