More than half of Koreans under 30 do not think marriage and having a child is a must, boding badly for the country struggling with the lowest birth rate in the world.

According to data from 2020 South Korean society compiled by Statistics Korea on Thursday, 32 percent of people aged 13 or above did not think having a child after marriage is “a must,” up 1.6 percentage points from a year ago.

The tendency deepened as the age went younger. The rate was 60.6 percent for teens and 52.5 percent for 20s.

Females were most negative to the idea of having kids (36.6 percent) than males (27.3 percent). Those who consider having a child as necessary fell 1.6 percentage points to 68 percent.

More than half or 51.2 percent of Koreans aged 13 or above still wished to get married.

Among the teenagers, marriage was a must for 32.7 percent (up from 28.3 percent) and a choice for 54.1 percent (down from 58.5 percent). Teens who do not want a marriage rose to 6.5 percent from 4.9 percent.

More felt lonelier: 22.3 percent, highest since 2016. More than 60 percent were happy with their lives, with the contentment rate higher for the high-income group.

By Lee Ha-yeon

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]