As the number of single-person households in Jeju is increasing, the number of newborn babies in Jeju is expected to drop over time. Special measures are urgently needed.
According to the Statistics and Forecasts for 2019 Honam-Jeju Households in 2019, announced by the Honam Regional Statistics Office on January 20, 36.4% of Jeju's population will be single-person households by 2047. The figure is 6.5% p higher than 29.9% of Jeju's single-person households last year.
The number of Jeju single-person households in 2019 is 75,000, and it is expected to increase to 132,000 in 2047.
In 2019, the total number of Jeju households is 251,000, and by 2047, it is expected to increase to 362,000. However, the average number of households is expected to decrease from 2.49 in 2019 to 2.05 in 2047.
While the total number of households increases, the average number of households is expected to drop as the number of single-person households increases.
The composition of households in 2019 are ¡ã married couple and children 25.9% ¡ã married couple 15% ¡ã parents and children 11.5% ¡ã households with over 3 generations 5.8%.
For households with married couples and their children, the figure is expected to drop to 12.4% in 2047. In addition to divorced households, more households, even if they do get married, choose not to give birth.
Jeju’s two-person households are expected to increase from 27.6% (69,000 households) in 2019 to 35.6% (129,000 households) in 2047. The number of divorced households in Jeju is expected to increase from 11.8% in 2019 to 17.9% in 2047. This is significantly higher than the national average of 13.8% in 2047.
The increase in the number of single-person households is attributable to the increase in divorced households and the increase in the number of young people who do not get married. As the number of newlywed couples decreases and more couples do not choose to have birth, there is an urgent need for a policy to resolve the low birth rate. |