One in 10 households now an elderly person living alone as single-person households hit record high

One in every 10 ordinary households in South Korea is now home to a person aged 65 or older living alone, according to new census data. Single-person households surpassed 8.24 million, setting yet another all-time high, while non-family households — people living together outside of family ties, such as friends or romantic partners — exceeded 600,000 for the first time.

Housing supply growth, meanwhile, slowed to its weakest pace in four years. Unoccupied homes nationwide topped 1.72 million, accounting for 8.5% of the total housing stock.

According to the 2025 Population and Housing Census (register-based method) released by the Ministry of Statistics on Tuesday, total households as of Nov. 1 last year stood at about 23.246 million, up 249,000 (1.1%) from the previous year. Of these, ordinary households numbered about 22.495 million, making up 96.8% of the total, while collective and foreign-national households accounted for 751,000.

Household size continues to shrink. Single-person households reached about 8.244 million, up 199,000 (2.5%) from the previous year, representing 36.6% of all ordinary households — record highs in both absolute number and share.

Two-person households also grew, rising 148,000 (2.3%) to about 6.624 million and lifting their share to 29.4%. Together, one- and two-person households now account for 66.1% of all ordinary households. Three-person households increased by 17,000 (0.4%).

Households of four or more people, by contrast, fell 163,000 (4.6%) to about 3.408 million. The average household size dropped to 2.16 members, down 0.03 from the previous year and 0.18 from five years ago.

Traditional family-based household structures also weakened. Family households numbered about 13.65 million, down 20,000 from the previous year, representing 60.7% of all ordinary households — a share that fell 0.6 percentage points year on year.

Non-family households — those made up of people without family ties, such as friends or romantic partners — rose to 605,000, crossing the 600,000 threshold for the first time. Their share edged up 0.1 percentage point to 2.7%.

The effects of an aging population were clearly visible in household composition. Households with at least one person aged 65 or older numbered about 7.495 million, accounting for 33.3% of all ordinary households — meaning one in three ordinary households includes an elderly member.

Particularly notable was the rise in elderly single-person households, which grew 167,000 (7.3%) to about 2.456 million. Their share of all ordinary households expanded 0.7 percentage points to 10.9%, meaning more than one in 10 ordinary households is now an elderly person living alone.

Single-parent households fell 13,000 (0.9%) to about 1.477 million, while multicultural households rose 12,000 (2.8%) to 451,000. Multicultural households have grown every year since 2015.

Housing supply growth slowed last year. Total housing units reached about 20.181 million, up 309,000 (1.6%) from the previous year — the smallest increase in both absolute and percentage terms since 2021, when housing grew by 286,000 units, or 1.5%.

The Ministry of Statistics said a decline in housing ground-breakings in recent years had worked its way through the pipeline, reducing completions and move-ins. Because it typically takes three to four years from ground-breaking to move-in, the slowdown in construction starts over recent years is now being reflected in the pace of housing growth.

By region, Incheon posted the highest housing growth rate at 2.9%, followed by Daejeon and North Chungcheong Province, each at 2.3%. In absolute terms, Gyeonggi Province led with 80,000 new units, followed by Seoul with 46,000 and Incheon with 34,000. About 9.45 million units, or 46.8% of the national total, are concentrated in the Greater Seoul metropolitan area.

By housing type, apartments accounted for about 13.289 million units, up 315,000 (2.4%) from the previous year, lifting their share of total housing to 65.8% — a gain of 0.6 percentage points. Single-family detached homes, by contrast, fell 12,000 (0.3%) to about 3.83 million units.

Housing is also aging faster. Units more than 20 years old make up 56.0% of the total stock, while those more than 30 years old account for 30.6%. Among detached homes, 60.3% are more than 30 years old; among apartments, 22.2% have passed that threshold. Regionally, the highest shares of housing more than 30 years old were in South Jeolla Province at 45.6%, North Jeolla Province at 40.5% and North Gyeongsang Province at 40.4%.

Unoccupied homes — those with no residents at the time of the survey — rose 122,000 (7.7%) to about 1.722 million units. Their share of total housing expanded 0.5 percentage points to 8.5% over the year.

When each independently occupied unit within a multi-household dwelling is counted separately, the total housing count rises to about 23.239 million units — about 3.058 million more than under the standard counting method.