Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – A study in 2022 revealed that more than 25 percent of couples in South Korea aged 25 to 39 did not have children.

Launching from The Korea Herald, research conducted by the Korea Labor Institute revealed that this phenomenon occurred in line with the increase in the DINK ratio among young people in South Korea. DINK is a term for dual-income couples who do not have children.

The study shows that as many as 27.1 percent of couples in the 25 to 39 year age group in South Korea do not have children. This figure is up almost five percent compared to 2019, namely from 22.2 percent.

Reportedly, much of this increase is due to the increasing number of DINK couples who in 2013 accounted for 21 percent of the demographic. That figure jumps to 36.3 percent in 2022.

In contrast to DINK, only 13.5 percent of young single-income couples will not have children in 2022. This figure is a relatively moderate increase compared to the results in 2013, namely 12.3 percent.

The report shows that as many as 71 percent of women from childless couples will be in the labor force in 2022, compared with 40.6 percent of women from childless couples.

“Our findings show that women in many couples stop carrying out financial activities because of difficulties in working and raising children,” wrote the Korea Labor Institute report, quoted Monday (13/5/2024).

The researchers noted that one of the factors driving low fertility rates for young couples is rising housing prices. This is considered to be the reason why Seoul accounts for the highest percentage of young couples without children, namely 45.2 percent in 2022.

The same report revealed that couples who do not have their own home and those who do not have children tend to work more. In detail, only around 34.6 percent of couples without children own a house. Meanwhile, 52 percent of couples who have children actually own a house.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(rns/rns)