Background: In Korea, where marriage and childbirth are inextricably linked, the number of childless women is rising. Aside from the increase in permanent unmarried women, the prevalence of late marriage limits a woman’s reproductive period, raises the risk of infertility, and can lead to childlessness. As Korea experienced the universalisation of higher education, the prolongation of education may have affected the timing of marriage. Objective: Examining women’s marital status, age at first marriage, and educational background, this research explores how increasing age at marriage and extending educational periods are related and how they affect childlessness. Methods: Based on 2005 and 2020 Korean census data, this study examines unmarried and married women aged 40. Descriptive statistics describe the trend of childlessness, and the effects of marital status, age at marriage, and educational background on childlessness are analysed by the decomposition technique. Results: The number of Korean women who postpone and forgo marriage and childbirth is rising across all educational levels. Women with lower education marry earlier but are more likely to remain childless. Among recent birth cohorts, women tend to stay childless/child-free longer after marriage, regardless of education. More of them ultimately remain childless. Conclusions: An increase in permanently unmarried women, delayed childbirth after marriage, and marital childlessness has resulted in a significant rise in childlessness regardless of the education of women. Contribution: There is literature on low fertility, childlessness, and delayed marriage, but the effect of education and marriage timing on marital childlessness remains understudied.

中文翻译：

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韩国无子女：教育、推迟结婚和婚姻无子女的作用（作者：Misun Lee、Kryštof Zeman）


背景：在婚姻和生育密不可分的韩国，无子女的妇女人数正在增加。除了永久未婚女性的增加之外，晚婚的盛行还限制了女性的生育期，增加了不孕的风险，并可能导致不育。随着韩国经历了高等教育的普及，教育的延长可能会影响结婚的时间。目的：本研究通过检查女性的婚姻状况、初婚年龄和教育背景，探讨结婚年龄增加和教育年限延长之间的关系以及它们如何影响无子女。方法：本研究基于2005年和2020年韩国人口普查数据，对40岁的未婚和已婚女性进行调查。描述性统计描述了无子女的趋势，并通过分解分析了婚姻状况、结婚年龄和教育背景对无子女的影响。技术。结果：在所有教育水平上，推迟和放弃结婚和生育的韩国女性人数都在增加。受教育程度较低的女性结婚较早，但更有可能不生育。在最近出生的人群中，无论受教育程度如何，女性在婚后往往会保持无子女/无子女的时间更长。他们中的更多人最终仍然没有孩子。结论：无论女性受教育程度如何，永久未婚女性、婚后生育延迟和婚内无子女的增加导致无子女人数显着增加。贡献：有关于低生育率、无子女和晚婚的文献，但教育和结婚时机对婚姻无子女的影响仍有待研究。