China's marriage rate was low in 2024, continuing a troubling trend despite the
government's efforts to encourage young people to marry and have children.
Only 6.1 million couples registered their marriages in 2024, a 20.5% drop compared
to 2023.
This is the lowest number of marriages recorded since 1986.
The decline in both marriages and births presents a serious challenge for China, as
it faces the effects of a shrinking workforce and an ageing population.
The number of marriages in 2024 is less than half of the 13 million registered in
2013, the peak year for marriages in china.
In 2024, 2.6 million Couples filed for divorce, a rise of 28000 Compared to the
previous year.
Since 2021, China has imposed a mandatory 30-day Cooling-off period for Couples
filing for divorce, China's population has been shrinking for three Consecutive
years.
The working age population , defined as between 16 and
59, dropped by 6.83 million in
2024 , meanwhile, the number of people aged 60 and above
Continued to
grow , now
making up 22% of total population.
Measures taken by the Chinese Government
Government has introduced a variety of measures, including financial
incentives
and awareness Campaigns , to encourage young people to marry and
have children.
Officials have also organised blind dating events , and
mass
weddings , and
attempted to curtail the tradition of large "bride price" from the groom to his
future wife's family.
That put marriage out of reach for many poor men in rural areas.
Since 2022, China's family planning Association has launched programs to create a
new-era marriage and child bearing culture, enrolling dozens of cities to promote
the Social value of child bearing and encouraging young people to get married and
give birth at an appropriate age.
Measures taken last year by authorities to tackle the problem including
urging
China's Colleges and Universities to provide love education to emphasize
positive
views on marriage, love, fertility and family .
Challenges and Consequences
If this trend Continues, the Chinese government's political and economic ambitions
will be ruined by its demographic Achilles heel.
The birth rate fell for decades due to China's 1980-2015 one-child Policy
and
rapid urbanisation.
And in the Coming decade, 300 million Chinese, equivalent to almost the
entire USA
population, are expected to retire .
