Out of a total of 2,168 female commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers last year, 1,641 of them, or 76 percent, had military spouses, according to the report released by Rep. Song Young-sun of the minor opposition Future Hope Alliance.
The report also found that the fertility rate of women in uniform stood at 1.61 in 2010, higher than the nation`s overall rate of 1.15.
Over the past five years, the average birthrate of women in uniform was 1.26, compared with the overall rate of 1.17, the report said.
About 6,600 women serve in the military as commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers. The Defense Ministry plans to increase the number of women in uniform to 10,552 by 2016 and to 11,570 by 2020.
Under the plan, the ratio of female commissioned and non-commissioned officers will rise to 6.3 percent by 2020, compared with 3.6 percent as of 2010, according to the ministry.
(T.A045/H-AK)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
