Marriages in China fell to 36-year low in 2022
Beijing, Jun 12 (EFE).- A total of 6.83 million marriages were registered in China in 2022, the lowest figure since records began in 1986, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ data.
The number of registered marriages had also dropped to a record low of 7.63 million in 2021, state-run newspaper Global Times reported on Monday, citing the ministry’s data.
The number of marriage registrations in China has been declining year by year since 2013, when 13.46 million marriages were registered.
In 2019, that number fell below 10 million for the first time.
Local demographer He Yafu told Global Times that registrations in 2022 were not only the lowest since 1986, but also since 1980, according to his calculations.
He attributed the decline to the decrease in the number of young people in the country as well as to there being more men than women among the marriageable population.
According to China’s latest population census conducted in 2020, there were 17.52 million more men than women in the 20-40 age group.
Another factor is that the average age of first marriage for women has risen from 24 years in 2010 to 27.95 years in 2020 and for men from 25.75 years to 29.38 years.
The expert also pointed to the “high costs” of marriage, which sometimes includes betrothal gifts, a custom still present in some parts of the country, and a change in attitude towards marriage among the younger generation as other reasons for the decline in the number of marriages.
China’s statistics agency reported a decrease of 850,000 inhabitants in 2022 for a population of 1,411.75 million, in contrast to the 1,412.6 million registered at the end of 2021.
At the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, held in 2022, the ruling party stressed that the country needed a system that increased birth rates and reduced the costs of pregnancy, childbirth, schooling and parenting. EFE
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