About 9 in 100 marriages multicultural as unions fall but divorces rise

About 9 in every 100 couples who married last year were multicultural, even as overall marriages and births rose while multicultural unions and births both declined. Analysts attributed the drop to a fall in the number of naturalized citizens and a base effect following two consecutive years of growth.

The share of third or higher-order births in multicultural families remained higher than among Korean-born parents, but has been trending steadily downward of late.

Multicultural marriages totaled 21,399 last year, down 51 cases, or 0.2 percent, from the previous year, according to the "2025 Multicultural Population Dynamics" report released Thursday by the Ministry of Statistics. Overall marriages, by contrast, rose 8.1 percent to 240,000.

As a result, multicultural marriages accounted for 8.9 percent of all marriages, a drop of 0.7 percentage points from the year before.

The ministry cited an increase in marriages involving foreign spouses alongside a decline in those involving naturalized citizens as the main driver. It noted that a sharp drop in naturalizations in 2021 and 2022 was now feeding through into marriage statistics, and that a base effect from the rise in multicultural marriages in 2023 and 2024 also played a role.

By type, marriages involving a foreign wife accounted for the largest share at 15,287 cases, or 71.4 percent of the total. Marriages involving a foreign husband numbered 4,036 (18.9 percent), while those involving a naturalized citizen came to 2,076 (9.7 percent).

Among husbands in multicultural marriages, those aged 45 and older made up the largest group at 31.8 percent, followed by those in their early 30s (20.5 percent) and late 30s (16.6 percent). Wives were concentrated in their late 20s (22.9 percent) and early 30s (22.8 percent), with those in their late 30s at 16.0 percent. Wives aged 19 or younger accounted for 4.9 percent.

Age distribution also varied by the spouse's background. Foreign or naturalized husbands were most commonly in their early 30s (27.0 percent), followed by their late 30s (22.2 percent) and late 20s (18.4 percent). Korean-born husbands, however, were most often 45 or older (37.3 percent), followed by those in their early 30s (18.2 percent) and early 40s (17.4 percent).

Foreign or naturalized wives were most commonly in their late 20s (22.9 percent), followed by their early 30s (20.3 percent) and early 20s (16.2 percent). Korean-born wives were most often in their early 30s (33.3 percent), followed by their late 20s (22.8 percent) and late 30s (19.4 percent).

The average age at first marriage for multicultural couples was 37.1 for husbands and 29.7 for wives, unchanged from the previous year. The average age gap between spouses narrowed slightly by 0.1 years to 7.3 years.

In 75.2 percent of multicultural couples, the husband was older; in 18.8 percent the wife was older; and 6.1 percent were the same age. Husbands who were 10 or more years older than their wives made up 36.1 percent — about 13 times the 2.7 percent recorded among Korean-born couples. That share fell, however, from 37.3 percent the previous year, a decline of 1.2 percentage points. The proportion of couples where the husband was six to nine years older also edged down from 13.3 percent to 12.8 percent.

By nationality, husbands most commonly came from the United States (6.8 percent), China (5.6 percent) and Vietnam (3.6 percent). Wives were most often from Vietnam (25.3 percent), followed by the United States (15.1 percent) and Thailand (9.2 percent).

Unlike marriages, multicultural divorces increased. There were 8,104 multicultural divorces last year, up 1.4 percent from the previous year — a contrast to the 3.3 percent decline in overall divorces, which totaled 88,000. The share of multicultural divorces within all divorces rose 0.4 percentage points to 9.2 percent.

By type, cases involving a foreign wife made up more than half of multicultural divorces at 52.6 percent. Those involving a naturalized citizen accounted for 31.7 percent, and those involving a foreign husband for 15.7 percent.

The average age at divorce was 50.7 for husbands and 41.6 for wives, up 0.2 and 0.4 years respectively from the previous year. The share of multicultural divorces involving minor children stood at 35.2 percent, lower than the 43.9 percent recorded for divorces between Korean-born spouses.

The average duration of marriage before divorce among multicultural couples was 10.2 years, down 0.1 years from the previous year. Divorces occurring within five years of marriage were the most common at 33.4 percent, followed by those between five and under 10 years (21.3 percent) and those between 10 and under 15 years (17.9 percent).

The share of divorces within five years of marriage has fallen from 40.0 percent in 2015, but still remains about 2.3 times the 14.6 percent recorded for Korean-born couples.

Among divorced foreign or naturalized husbands, China was the most common country of origin (12.5 percent), followed by the United States (3.3 percent) and Japan (2.9 percent). Among wives, China also topped the list (29.6 percent), followed by Vietnam (27.8 percent) and Thailand (6.2 percent).

Births in multicultural families also declined. There were 13,347 multicultural births last year, down 0.5 percent from the previous year, even as overall births rose 6.7 percent to 254,000. The share of multicultural births in total births fell 0.4 percentage points to 5.2 percent. The ministry again cited the decline in naturalizations and a base effect as contributing factors.

By birth order, first children accounted for 60.2 percent of multicultural births, second children for 27.0 percent, and third or higher-order children for 12.9 percent. The third-or-higher share was 6.9 percentage points above that of Korean-born parents, but has fallen for two consecutive years — from 13.8 percent in 2023 to 13.7 percent in 2024 and 12.9 percent last year. The ministry attributed the decline in part to a drop in marriages involving women from Vietnam and China.

Mothers of multicultural newborns were most commonly in their early 30s (31.9 percent), followed by their late 30s (29.6 percent) and late 20s (18.8 percent). The average age at childbirth rose 0.1 years from the previous year to 32.6.

Among foreign or naturalized mothers, Vietnam was the most common country of origin (27.9 percent), followed by China (10.2 percent) and Japan (6.3 percent). Among fathers, the United States led (8.4 percent), followed by Vietnam (5.3 percent) and China (5.1 percent).

By region, Gyeonggi Province recorded the highest number of multicultural births at 3,910, followed by Seoul at 2,360 and Incheon at 953. North Jeolla Province and South Chungcheong Province tied for the highest share of multicultural births within their respective total births at 6.5 percent each, while Sejong recorded the lowest at 2.7 percent.

Meanwhile, deaths in multicultural families rose 3.9 percent to 3,257, though their share of total deaths held steady at 0.9 percent, unchanged from the previous year.