Men have a greater chance of dying single than women, with one in five men born in 2010 estimated to be single at the end of their lives.

About 79 percent of men born in 2010 are likely to succeed in marriage in their lifetime, compared with 85 percent for women. These are predictions based on current trends, according to a survey of marriage, divorce and birth data between 2000 and 2010 by Statistics Korea.

More than 20 percent of men will pass away single, compared to 15 percent of women, according to the prediction.

This would be an increase of 5.8 percentage points for men, and 6 percentage points for women from 10 years ago.

Those who are born in 2010 and get married are predicted to have a higher chance of splitting up, with more than 25 percent of men and 24.7 percent of women expected to file for divorce, both up about 3 percentage points from 10 years ago.

With the low birth rate and rising divorce rate, the statistics bureau said that it would become more difficult for men to get married and have children.

It also noted that in the last 10 years more and more people, especially men, had pushed back marriage until they secured a stable job. This trend has become prevalent lately due to the sluggish job market.

The survey also showed that the average age for men to tie the knot was 33 years old, and 30 years old for women, over the last 10 years.

Also, the average age at which couples separated was 47.5 years old for men, compared to 42.8 years old for women, according to the statistics bureau.

The average age of death for men increased by 4.8 years to 77.8 years old. For women, it increased by 5.2 years to 74.2 years old, reflecting the rise in Korea’s life expectancy during the 10-year span from 2000-2010.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)