Marriage, divorce trends reveal growing social shifts in China

According to a new article, Reuters features that China is facing a demographic crisis, with marriage rates dropping to historic lows and the population declining for the third consecutive year. 

Marriage rates in China dropped by 20 per cent last year, marking the largest decrease on record, despite numerous efforts by authorities to encourage young couples to marry and have children in order to counter the country’s shrinking population. The declining interest in marriage and family life has long been attributed to the high costs of childcare and education in China. Additionally, sluggish economic growth in recent years has made it harder for university graduates to find jobs, and those who are employed feel uncertain about their long-term career prospects.

Over 6.1 million couples registered for marriage last year, a decrease from 7.68 million the previous year, according to data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs. "Unprecedented! Even in 2020, due to Covid-2019, marriages only decreased by 12.2%," said Yi Fuxian, a demographer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also pointed out that the number of marriages in China last year was less than half of the 13.47 million recorded in 2013.

If this trend persists, "the Chinese government's political and economic ambitions will be ruined by its demographic Achilles' heel," he added. For Chinese authorities, encouraging marriage and childbearing has become an urgent priority. China, with a population of 1.4 billion, is the second-largest in the world, but it is aging rapidly. The birth rate has been declining for decades due to the one-child policy implemented from 1980 to 2015, as well as rapid urbanization. Over the next decade, approximately 300 million Chinese—equivalent to almost the entire population of the United States—are expected to retire.

Last year, authorities took measures to address the issue, including encouraging China’s colleges and universities to offer "love education" to promote positive views on marriage, love, fertility, and family. In November, China's state council, or cabinet, also instructed local governments to allocate resources to address the country's population crisis and to foster respect for childbearing and marriages "at the right age."

Last year, there was a modest increase in births following a decline caused by the pandemic, as well as because 2024 was the Chinese zodiac year of the dragon, a time when children born are believed to be ambitious and lucky. However, despite this uptick in births, the country’s population declined for the third year in a row. The data also revealed that over 2.6 million couples filed for divorce last year, marking a 1.1 per cent increase compared to 2023.

By Naila Huseynova