SEOUL, The number of single-person households in the country peaked at an all-time high of over 10 million last month, a surge spurred by a rapidly aging population and a growing number of people opting to stay single, the interior ministry said Tuesday.

The number of one-person households in the country stood at 10,021,413 in March, up from 9,981,702 in February, accounting for 41.8 percent of some 24 million households in total, according to resident registration data from the interior ministry.

By age group, those aged 60-69 showed the highest percentage with 1.85 million households, and 1.68 million households were aged 30-39, according to the data.

The proportion of one-person households was found to be higher in densely populated regions like Gyeonggi Province and Seoul, marking some 2.25 million households and 2 million households, respectively.

Two-person households increased from some 5.89 million in February to 5.91 million this month, whereas four-person households slimmed from 3.12 million to
3.11 million in the same period.

The interior ministry data compiles the number of one-person households based on the address of a household, thereby counting a family of three members all living separately as three single families.

The government points to the growing number of elders who live alone, and singles who are not married as reasons for the uptick, while vowing to come up with policies to ensure their stable housing.

Source: Yonhap News Agency