Using data gathered from a local social survey, the Gwangju Welfare Foundation found the average level of happiness among single households was 6.29 out of 10, over 0.5 points lower than multiple-person households. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 18 (Korea Bizwire) – Individuals who live alone are a lot less happy than those who live with others, a new survey has found.
Using data gathered from a local social survey, the Gwangju Welfare Foundation found the average level of happiness among single households was 6.29 out of 10, over 0.5 points lower than multiple-person households.
The happiness index showed that the average level of happiness among residents in Gwangju was 6.89.
With regard to health, 26 percent of members of a single household said they are in ‘poor or very poor’ health, while only 12.3 percent among multiple-person households shared the same idea.
Nearly one in two single households earned a monthly average of less than one million won, while 66.7 percent had a living expense budget lower than one million won.
As low income earners prevail among single households, their average spending remains low.
Since 1990, the number of single households has been increasing drastically.
In 2015, nearly three in ten South Korean households consisted of just one person, up over 20 percent from 1990.
During the same year, the number of male members of a single household surpassed that of females for the first time, accounting for 50.9 percent and 49.1 percent respectively.
Males in their 30s were the largest age group that lived alone, while women aged over 70 accounted for over 35 percent of all female single households in the country.
“Appropriate measures need to be introduced to look after and support single households in terms of health, income, and safety,” an official at the Gwangju Welfare Foundation said.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
