The number of new marriages in China last year increased for the first time in nearly 10 years, according to multiple media reports that cited recent data from the ministry of civil affairs.
According to the figures, 7.68 million marriages were registered in China in 2023, an increase of 12.4 percent year-on-year. The marriage rate, meanwhile, stood at 5.4 per thousand people, representing a growth of 0.6 in comparison to 2022.
China Daily notes that the world’s second most populous nation’s marriage tally reached its highest point in 2013, hitting 13.47 million. In subsequent years, the figure began to drop off, decreasing to just 10 million marriages in 2019, before plummeting all the way to 6.84 million in 2022.
A number of factors are responsible for the unexpected increase last year, according to Guangdong-based demographer Dong Yuzheng who spoke to Yicai. He notes that people had been unable to engage in premarital dating during the pandemic and that the disruptions from the disease also caused marriage plans to be pushed back to 2023.
Dong, however, believes that “the increase is a temporary phenomenon.” Indeed, The Paper reported that the marriage registration figures for the first half of 2024 hit a record low, with only 3.43 million marriages recorded, a drop of around 50 percent against the 6.94 million marriages in the first six months of 2014.
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China’s dwindling marriage and birth rate numbers have been caused by various factors, including a rising elderly population, the high cost of living, the greater number of males in comparison to females, and changing views regarding the institution and necessity of marriage.
Fearful of the economic and societal impact of such trends, Chinese authorities have enacted a variety of countermeasures. For instance, newly married couples in certain provinces are now entitled to 30 days of paid leave. Meanwhile, local authorities have also launched subsidies for couples with two or three children, free IVF, and a 30-day “cooling-off” period for couples seeking divorce.
Mainland China is not the only Asian location to be hit by chronically low marriage and birth rates. Neighbouring South Korea and Japan have also been beset by the problem, with the latter applying initiatives such as a government dating app and male paternity leave.
Macao has also been dealing with the same issue, as illustrated by a recent study in which nearly 50 percent of young respondents indicated that they had no plans to tie the knot over the next five years.
