Single, two-member households to become majority of Seoul population: report

Households comprised of one or two people will account for over 60 percent of Seoul's total population by 2040, a report showed Monday.

Byeon Mi-ri, chief of the Global Future Research Center under the Seoul Institute, said 30 percent of homes in the capital city will be made up of just one person among some 4.1 million households. Another 32 percent will be made up of two-member households, she predicted.

The increase in such households can be attributed to the growth in women's economic activities and the change in views about marriage, which is already leading to many people opting to stay single or marry at a later age, experts say. Other reasons include the rise of divorces and elderly citizens left alone after the death of a spouse, and young people who don't have a job stable enough to start a family.

According to the report, based on data from Statistics Korea and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Seoul population will shrink to 9.16 million by 2040 from the current 10 million, due to the decrease in the overall birthrate and high housing-related fees.

The working age population, between 15 and 64, will also decrease to 5.45 million from the current 7.5 million, it said.

Such a development can lead to a possible slowdown of economic growth.

South Korea's life expectancy, meanwhile, is expected to increase to 85.1 years for men and 90.7 years for women by 2040.

The country's life expectancy came to 81 years as of end-2013, up 8.6 years from 72.5 years in 1990, according to government data.

The details of the report will be released at the institute's seminar on the future of the capital city to be held at city hall Tuesday. (Yonhap)