SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's single-person households hit a new high last year due to delayed marriages and the aging population, statistical office data showed Tuesday.

The number of single-member households was recorded at 7,502,000 in 2022, up from 7,166,000 in 2021, according to Statistics Korea.

The proportion of one-person households to the total families reached a fresh record high of 34.5 percent in 2022, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous year.

It continued to rise for the past years, topping 30 percent for the first time in 2019.

The swift growth came as the younger generation delayed or gave up on marriages in addition to the rapidly aging population.

Of the single-person households, those in their 20s or younger accounted for the highest proportion of 19.2 percent last year, according to Statistics Korea.

It was followed by those in their 70s or older with 18.6 percent, 30s with 17.3 percent and 60s with 16.7 percent.

The number of one-member households with jobs stood at 4,555,000 in 2022, up 204,000 from a year earlier.

The annual average income of one-person households gained 11.1 percent to 30.10 million won (22,870 U.S. dollars) last year, being equivalent to 44.5 percent of the income for the total households.

Assets and debts among single-person households averaged 209.49 million won (159,190 dollars) and 36.51 million won (27,740 dollars) each. Enditem

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