Marriage Numbers Halved in 10 Years... China Choosing Not to Marry

3.43 Million Couples in the First Half... Lowest Since 1980
Annual Estimate at 6.6 Million, Record Low Level

After the transition to With-Corona, the number of marriages in China, which had increased, is once again showing a declining trend, and this year is expected to record the lowest number ever. Some view this phenomenon as a result of a growing number of young people who are skeptical about marriage due to economic slowdown and employment difficulties.

According to local media such as China's Pengpai News and Jiemian News on the 5th, statistics recently released by China's Ministry of Civil Affairs show that marriage registrations in the first and second quarters of this year totaled 3.43 million, while divorce registrations were 1.274 million. The number of marriage registrations in the first half of the year decreased by 498,000 (12.7%) compared to the same period last year (3.928 million), marking the lowest level since 2013. Compared to the first half of 2014 (6.94 million), it has been halved in 10 years.

China's state-run Global Times cited population researcher He Yafu, who has been tracking marriage registration data, predicting that the annual number of marriage registrations this year will be the lowest since 1980. In China, where many couples marry during the Spring Festival (Chunje, the Chinese New Year), marriages typically concentrate in the first half of the year, and if the current trend continues, the annual number of marriage registrations is expected to be only 6.6 million couples.

The number of marriage registrations in China peaked at 13.469 million in 2013, then dropped below 10 million to 9.273 million in 2019, just before the spread of COVID-19. Afterward, it sharply declined to 8.143 million in 2020 (a 12.2% decrease), 7.643 million in 2021 (a 6.1% decrease), and 6.835 million in 2022 (a 10.6% decrease). In the first year of With-Corona last year, postponed marriage registrations surged to 7.68 million, but this was a temporary phenomenon.

Researcher He Yafu stated, "Last year's growth was due to the accumulation of weddings postponed since 2020," adding, "The first half figures indicate that this effect has weakened, and the number of marriage registrations will continue to decline throughout the year." He evaluated the reasons behind the decline in marriage registrations, saying, "The young population is decreasing, and there is a gender imbalance among the marriageable population. Additionally, not only is the age of first marriage getting later, but high marriage costs and changing attitudes toward marriage have also had an impact."

According to China's 7th population census, the surviving population born in the 1980s is 215 million, those born in the 1990s number 178 million, and those born in the 2000s are about 155 million. Furthermore, among the population aged 20 to 40, there are 17.52 million more males than females.

Also, the average age of first marriage, which was 25.27 years for men and 24 years for women in 2010, shifted to 29.38 years for men and 28.95 years for women as of 2020. Researcher He argued, "Implementing strong birth support policies under the current circumstances will be one of the key measures to address population decline."