Chinese marriages hit a historic low in 2024, escalating worries over the birthrate

Despite many attempts by officials to urge young couples to marry and have children in order to boost the country’s decreasing population, marriages in China fell by a fifth last year, the largest reduction on record.

In China, the high expense of childcare and schooling has long been cited as the reason for declining interest in marriage and establishing a family. In addition, university graduates have had a hard time finding employment due to the economy’s sluggish development in recent years, and those who do have positions are uncertain about their long-term prospects.

According to data released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the number of couples who registered for marriage decreased from 7.68 million to around 6.1 million last year.

“A first! “Marriages only dropped by 12.2% in 2020 as a result of COVID-19,” Yi Fuxian, a demographer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, stated.

China had less than half as many weddings last year as it had in 2013, with 13.47 million marriages, he said.

If this pattern persists, he continued, “its demographic Achilles’ heel will ruin the Chinese government’s political and economic ambitions.”

The promotion of marriage and childbearing is a top priority for Chinese officials.

The 1.4 billion people that live in China are the second largest population in the world, and they are becoming older rapidly.

Because to China’s one-child policy from 1980 to 2015 and its fast urbanization, the birth rate decreased for decades. Also, it is anticipated that almost 300 million Chinese, or about the whole U.S. population, would retire in the next ten years.

One of the steps authorities took last year to address the issue was to encourage Chinese schools and universities to offer “love education” that emphasizes positive perspectives on marriage, love, fertility, and family.

The Chinese state council, or cabinet, instructed local governments in November to focus their resources on resolving China’s population issue and promoting respect for marriage and childbirth “at the right age.”

Following a lull caused by the epidemic, births somewhat increased last year since 2024 was the Chinese zodiac year of the dragon, which is associated with children who are expected to be ambitious and fortunate.

For the third year in a row, however, the nation’s population declined despite the rise in births.

Additionally, the statistics revealed that over 2.6 million couples filed for divorce in 2023, an increase of 1.1% from the previous year.