Amid a decline in the average number of births over the past three years, the proportion of unmarried individuals who intend to marry has increased.
On the 11th, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs conducted the '2024 Family and Birth Survey' with 14,372 adults aged 19 to 49 and their spouses, revealing that the average number of births for women is 0.85. This is 0.18 fewer than the previous survey conducted in 2021 (1.03).
Including those in de facto marriages, the average number of children planned by women aged 19 to 49 with marital experience was 1.75. This is a decrease from 1.93 in the 2021 survey.
When adult men and women were divided based on whether they had a spouse, the survey found that only 18% of those with spouses planned to have children. The average number of children planned by these individuals was approximately 1.25. In contrast, among those without spouses, 63.2% expressed plans to have children, with an average planned number of 1.54.
Although the number of births has decreased, the intention to marry among unmarried individuals has increased compared to three years ago.
The response rate indicating intention to marry stands at 62.2%, which is an increase of 11.4 percentage points compared to the 2021 survey (50.8%).
The response rate for those who have not yet decided to marry is 19.4%, a decrease of 4.5 percentage points from the 2021 survey. The percentage of those who have no intention of marrying also fell from 11.9% to 6.7% during the same period.
The intention to marry among men is 68.1%, which is 13.6 percentage points higher than that of women (54.5%). By age group, those in their 40s show lower marriage intentions compared to those in their 20s and 30s. Additionally, among unmarried individuals, those with previous marriage experience exhibited lower marriage intentions compared to those who have never married.
The most common reason for not wanting to marry is that individuals are 'satisfied with their current lives (58.4%),' followed by 'lack of money (11.4%)' and 'not meeting a suitable partner (10.2%).
Negative perceptions about cohabitating without marriage are higher than positive perceptions.
The proportion of unmarried individuals who responded that they would consider cohabitating without marriage stands at 41.1%, which is 17.3 percentage points lower than those who disagreed (58.4%).
Those who intend to marry place significant importance on 'economic stability' as a marriage goal.
Unmarried individuals intending to marry ranked relationship (82.4%), love (78.5%), economic stability (69.8%), and meeting family and societal expectations (44.2%) in that order of importance.
Married individuals considered love (81.9%), relationship (81.8%), economic stability (53.2%), and meeting family and societal expectations (45.1%) as the most important values at the time of marriage.
The researchers noted, 'Although there is a slight difference, the higher emphasis on building a relationship rather than fulfilling and completing love, along with the focus on economic stability, suggests that future marriages may become more rational and selective compared to the present.'