Record-low number of marriages in China could exacerbate demographic problems and hamper the implementation of the third-child policy, the Global Times reported, citing demography experts
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd September, 2022) Record-low number of marriages in China could exacerbate demographic problems and hamper the implementation of the third-child policy, the Global Times reported, citing demography experts.
The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs published a report, according to which, a record-low 7.64 million couples registered their marriage in 2021, lower than in 2020 by 6.1%. For the first time since 2003 this indicator dropped below 8 million and became the lowest marriage rate since 1986, when the ministry began to publish such data.
The marriage rate continues to drop for the eighth consecutive year. Only 48.2% of couples were over 30 in 2021.
Experts believe that a decrease in the number of marriages is connected to a longer academic life, increasing work pressure, and the change of attitudes toward family and marriage among young people. With the tightening of the one-child policy in the late 1990s, the number of people who are in the marriage age in the 2020s has also decreased.
Late marriages will lead to lower birth rates and affect the third-child policy, according to experts.
The Chinese government has issued several measures that help young families, including support packages in finance, tax, housing, employment, education and other spheres. But the country is facing serious demographic challenges, including gender imbalance and an aging population, largely as a result of the one-child policy introduced in the late 1970s, which allowed families in cities to have only one child, and two in villages, if the first child was a girl. In 2013, the authorities began to ease some restrictions in order to solve emerging issues.
