How many multicultural marriages were recorded in South Korea in 2025, and what share of all marriages did they represent?

There were 21,399 multicultural marriages, 51 fewer than in 2024. They represented 8.9 percent of all marriages.

What were the age differences between husbands and wives in South Korea’s multicultural marriages in 2025?

The average age at first marriage was 37.1 for husbands and 29.7 for wives. Husbands were at least 10 years older in 36.1 percent of these marriages.

How did divorces and births among multicultural families in South Korea change in 2025?

Divorces among multicultural couples increased 1.4 percent year on year to 8,104. The number of babies born to multicultural families decreased 0.5 percent to 13,347.

Multicultural marriages in S. Korea edge down in 2025

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Summary

South Korea recorded 21,399 multicultural marriages in 2025, down 0.2 percent from 2024 and accounting for 8.9 percent of all marriages. Marriages involving foreign wives made up 71.4 percent of the total. Divorces among multicultural couples rose 1.4 percent to 8,104, while births to multicultural families fell 0.5 percent to 13,347.

Key Facts

The 2025 total was 51 fewer multicultural marriages than the 21,450 recorded in 2024, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
Marriages involving foreign husbands accounted for 18.9 percent of multicultural marriages, while those involving naturalized citizens made up 9.7 percent.
The average age at first marriage was 37.1 for husbands and 29.7 for wives.
Husbands were older than their wives in 75.2 percent of multicultural marriages, and at least 10 years older in 36.1 percent.
Vietnamese wives accounted for 25.3 percent of multicultural marriages, followed by Chinese wives at 15.1 percent and Thai wives at 9.2 percent.

By Yonhap

Published Nov 5, 2026 1:30 pm KST

The number of multicultural marriages in South Korea edged down in 2025 from a year earlier, data showed Thursday, taking up 8.9 percent of all marriages.

The country recorded 21,399 multicultural marriages last year, down 0.2 percent, or 51, from 21,450 in 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

Marriages involving foreign wives accounted for 71.4 percent of multicultural marriages, followed by those with foreign husbands at 18.9 percent and those with naturalized citizens at 9.7 percent.

The average age for first marriages was 37.1 years for husbands and 29.7 years for wives.

Husbands were older than their wives in 75.2 percent of multicultural marriages. In 36.1 percent of all multicultural marriages, the husband was at least 10 years older than his wife.

Vietnamese wives accounted for 25.3 percent of all multicultural marriages, followed by Chinese wives at 15.1 percent and Thai wives at 9.2 percent.

The corresponding figures for husbands from the United States, China and Vietnam were 6.8 percent, 5.6 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the number of divorces among multicultural couples rose 1.4 percent on-year to 8,104 in 2025.

The number of babies born to multicultural families fell 0.5 percent on-year to 13,347, the latest findings showed.

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