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The number of marriages declined last year for the first time in five years. With income dwindling and unemployment rising, a growing number of young people are giving up on marriage. The number of marriages decreased for the first time since 2003, when there were some 24,000 fewer than the previous year as a result of the credit-card crisis.
The National Statistical Office on Wednesday said some 327,700 marriages were registered in 2008, down 15,800, or 4.6 percent from the year before. Korea's birthrate stood at 1.19 babies, a record low, last year and will likely drop below one baby per woman this year.
Amid growing youth unemployment and the recession, the number of first marriages dwindled, but first marriages among couples in their 30s outnumbered those in their 20s. Out of all marriages in 2008, 249,400 marriages were firsts for both men and women, down a whopping 152,000 year-on-year. Some 77,700 marriages were the second time for either of the spouses, up 13,000 year-on-year. And 20,600 marriages were the first for men and the second for their wives, up 940.
The average age for first marriages rose to 31.4 for men and 28.3 for women. For the first time, men who married in their early 30s (110,800) outnumbered those who married in their late 20s (107,500).
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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