Marriage Rates in China Drop to Record Low
World
Marriage rates in China have fallen to the lowest level since records began in 1986. The decline has been attributed to rising living costs and factors such as traditional gender roles.
In 2024, the number of marriages in China dropped by 20%, hitting a record low, as young people resisted government efforts to encourage them to settle down and have more children.
According to data from China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, 7.7 million marriages were registered in 2023, but this number fell to 6.1 million in 2024. This is less than half of the 2013 figure and the lowest recorded level since 1986.
The sharp decline in marriages was also influenced by a brief surge in 2023, when many couples rushed to marry after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. Additionally, 2024 was considered an “inauspicious widow year” in the Chinese lunar calendar, which may have deterred some people from getting married.
"It’s not that people don’t want to get married, but that they simply can’t afford to!" — wrote a Weibo user from Changzhou.
China is one of the world’s most populous countries and has long enforced strict birth control policies, including the "one-child policy". However, as the country now faces a shrinking and aging population, the authoritarian government is trying to encourage people to have more children.
One of the main strategies to achieve this is promoting marriage. In China, births are closely linked to marriage, and having children out of wedlock is discouraged by both traditional values and government regulations.
However, decades of restrictive policies have led to a smaller population of people of marriageable age, and most of them are not interested in marriage or having children.
"Women can now support themselves financially and don’t need to rely on men. The desire to get married is much lower than before," the report states.
Carl Minzner, a senior fellow at the Council for Chinese Studies, described this trend as "drastic."
According to data from China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, 7.7 million marriages were registered in 2023, but this number fell to 6.1 million in 2024. This is less than half of the 2013 figure and the lowest recorded level since 1986.
The sharp decline in marriages was also influenced by a brief surge in 2023, when many couples rushed to marry after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. Additionally, 2024 was considered an “inauspicious widow year” in the Chinese lunar calendar, which may have deterred some people from getting married.
"It’s not that people don’t want to get married, but that they simply can’t afford to!" — wrote a Weibo user from Changzhou.
China is one of the world’s most populous countries and has long enforced strict birth control policies, including the "one-child policy". However, as the country now faces a shrinking and aging population, the authoritarian government is trying to encourage people to have more children.
One of the main strategies to achieve this is promoting marriage. In China, births are closely linked to marriage, and having children out of wedlock is discouraged by both traditional values and government regulations.
However, decades of restrictive policies have led to a smaller population of people of marriageable age, and most of them are not interested in marriage or having children.
"Women can now support themselves financially and don’t need to rely on men. The desire to get married is much lower than before," the report states.
Carl Minzner, a senior fellow at the Council for Chinese Studies, described this trend as "drastic."
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