By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter

The surging numbers of single women are the key factor behind the country's low birthrate, research showed Sunday.

The Statistical Research Institute reported that one out of five females aged between 30 and 34 were single as of 2005, compared with one in 10 in 2000.

In the 35 to 39 age-bracket, 7.6 percent were single, up from 4.1 percent in 2000.

Korea suffers the lowest birthrate ― 1.19 children per woman ― among OECD member countries

The report showed that those with a higher level of education tend to delay childbirth.

Salaried workers had the least number of children, reflecting the difficulties they face in the workplace as working moms. They had on average 1.75 children, while those who work for family businesses had 2.3.

It suggested that more families are settling for only one child, with the ratio rising to 51.2 percent in 2007 from 45.3 percent in 2000.

The preference for boys also seems to be decreasing.

Before, many families with three children had two daughters first and later a son in the wake of pressure for a male heir to continue the family name.

Among mothers with more than two children and aged between 45 and 49, 48.9 percent had a son after having two daughters. In the age bracket between 25 and 29, however, only 21.6 percent did so.

The birthrate was especially low in mega cities and metropolitan areas. Gangnam in southern Seoul and a central district in Busan had the lowest in the country.

The ratio of females remaining single was high in these regions, and married women there had only a small number of children.

In Seoul, for example, 12.5 percent of women aged between 35 and 39 are single, nearly twice as high as the national average.

Married women in Seoul had on average 1.75 children, much lower than women in South Jeolla Province who had 2.38 children.

The statistics showed that childcare is a big burden for females who continue their careers.

Among those aged between 25 and 29, for example, 78.3 percent of single women were working, while only one out of four of their peers with children were in employment.

Those with a professional career or in a managerial position were more likely to remain single. In the age group between 30 and 34, 27.4 percent of professional women were on their own, while only 9.7 percent were married and had children.

"In OECD member countries after the 1990s, females with a job and higher level of education tended to have a higher birthrate," the institute said, adding that Korea was going the opposite way.

chizpizza@koreatimes.co.kr