The number of single-person households increased further last year to account for a record high of 42 percent of all households, data from the Interior Ministry showed.

According to resident registration data from the ministry, the total number of registered households in the country rose by 0.9 percent to reach 23.91 million as of December last year, compared to the previous year when the corresponding figure was 23.7 million.

Of the total, one-person households reached 9.93 million as of last month, up from 9.72 million compared to a year ago, accounting for the majority of the yearly growth in the total number of households.

The recent growth elevated the proportion of one-person households to total households to 42 percent, a significant increase from last year’s estimated ratio of one-person families of 34 percent, as reported by Statistics Korea, the national statistics agency.

According to the ministry data, two-person households reached 5.86 million last month, up slightly from 5.74 million from a year ago. Three-person households also grew slightly from 4.01 million to 4.02 million. (Yonhap)