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More South Korean women are getting married in their early 40s than those in their early 20s, showing a shift in perception of marriage amid an aging population and low birthrate.
According to data released by Statistics Korea on Monday, there were 10,949 marriages last year involving women aged from 40 to 44, compared with 10,113 marriages involving women aged 20 to 24.
The number of marriages among women in their early 40s exceeded that in their early 20s last year for the second consecutive year. The number of marriages among women in their early 40s in 2021 was 10,412, surpassing 9,985 among women in their early 20s for the first time since 1990, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. This means that it is now easier to see brides in their early 40s than in their early 20s.
The total number of marriages plunged 51 percent to 191,690 from 388,960 between 1997 and 2022. In particular, the number of women marrying in their early 20s plummeted 93 percent to 10,113 from 136,918 during the same period, while that of women tying the knot in their early 40s jumped 50 percent to 10,949 from 7,322.
While the number of marriages among women in their early 20s declined by one-tenth, the number of women tying the knot in their early 40s increased by 1.5 times. First marriages among women in their 40s increased 3.9 times to 5,835 last year from 1,484 in 1997.
This trend partly reflects a demographic change with the number of women in their 20s dropping.
According to data on the registered population by age, women in their early 20s fell 29.2 percent to 14.49 million in 2022 from 2.05 million in 1997, while women in their early 40s increased 16.3 percent to 1.96 million from 1.68 million during the same period. In other words, aging population caused by low birthrates is also reflected in the number of marriages.
This situation also reflects an accelerated trend that marriage is an option rather than a must.
According to a survey conducted by the statistics agency last year, 35.1 percent of people polled in their 20s said they should get married, the lowest among all age groups except teenagers at 29.1 percent, and 42.3 percent were in their 40s. The delayed entry into society is also cited as a factor in the increase in late marriages.
Meanwhile, the proportion of couples in which women are older than men hit a record. Older women-younger men couples accounted for 19.4 percent of first-married couples last year, up 0.2 percentage points from a year ago. In other words, one out of five first-married couples are older women-younger men couples.
By Pulse
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]