The findings, based on figures released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare between 2017 and 2018, were compiled by combining 260 statistics covering 13 sectors including family, children, employment and health.

The statistics showed that 70.5 percent of students from elementary, middle and high schools engaged in private education, such as lessons after school or attendance at study academies, in 2017.

The rate peaked at 73.6 percent in 2010 and steadily decreased to 71.7 percent in 2011 and 69.4 percent in 2012, before making a comeback.

Monthly spending on private education averaged 271,000 won ($254) per student in 2017, up 5.9 percent, or 15,000 won, from a year earlier, the latest data showed. Spending on education has generally been rising year after year.

The ministry said the data showed that the number of one-person households continued to rise, with the rate hitting 28.6 percent in 2017, amid the growing trend of people opting to remain single.

Households consisting of a single member totaled 5.62 million in 2017, with the number expected to reach 6 million in 2020, 7 million in 2030 and 8 million in 2045.

The percentage of those living alone has been moving up for decades and hit the 20 percent mark for the first time in 2005.

In the health sector, the statistics showed that the country's suicide rate has continued to decrease since 2013, mainly on the back of concerted government efforts to reduce the figure.

The figures showed that 24.3 out of 100,000 people took their own lives in 2017, compared with 25.6 in 2016.

(Yonhap)