SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's multicultural marriages grew in double digits last year on the back of high marriages between South Korean grooms and foreign brides, statistical office data showed Thursday.

The number of marriages between South Korean nationals and foreign spouses jumped 17.2 percent over the year to 20,431 in 2023 after surging 25.1 percent in the previous year, according to Statistics Korea.

Of the total marriages here last year, international marriages accounted for 10.6 percent, up from the previous year's 9.1 percent.

Couples made up of South Korean men and foreign women took up 69.8 percent of the total multicultural marriages, followed by couples of foreign husbands and South Korean wives with 17.9 percent and marriages to naturalized spouses with 12.3 percent.

On average, grooms were 37.2 years old in transnational marriages, while brides were 29.5 years old.

Of all foreign and naturalized brides marrying South Korean men, Vietnamese accounted for 27.9 percent, followed by Chinese with 17.4 percent and Thai with 9.9 percent.

Both Chinese and U.S. men took up 6.9 percent of all foreign and naturalized grooms, while Vietnamese men posted 3.9 percent.

The number of divorces among multicultural couples increased 3.9 percent from a year earlier to 8,158 in 2023.

The number of babies born to international couples reduced 3.0 percent to 12,150 last year after declining in double figures in 2021 and 2022.

The tally made up 5.3 percent of the total newborn babies here in 2023. Enditem

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