The proportion of one-person households in South Korea hit a fresh record high last year, as the number of such households has continued to increase amid a delay in marriage and rapid aging, data showed.

One-person families accounted for 31.7 percent of the total last year, up from 30.2 percent the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

Households consisting of a single member totaled 6.64 million in 2020, up from 6.15 million a year earlier, the statistics agency said.

The proportion of one-person households has continued to rise since 2015, when the percentage of such households hit 27.2 percent. In 2019, that figure topped 30 percent for the first time.

Of single-member households, people in their 20s accounted for the largest proportion of 19.1 percent last year. They were followed by people in their 30s with 16.8 percent and those in their 50s with 15.6 percent, the data showed. (Yonhap)