Marriages in China slump to historic low amid falling birth rate
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Only 6.83 million couples tied the knot in China last year, down about 800,000 from the previous year.
PHOTO: AFP
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BEIJING - Marriages in China dropped in 2022 to their lowest since records began, local news outlet Yicai reported on Sunday, continuing a steady decline over the past decade, although the matrimonial total may have been affected by stringent Covid-19 lockdowns.
Just 6.83 million couples completed their marriage registrations in 2022, data published on the website of the Ministry of Civil Affairs showed, down about 800,000 from the previous year.
The drop in couples tying the knot, which follows pandemic restrictions keeping tens of millions locked in their homes or compounds for weeks in 2022, comes as the authorities deal with a declining birth rate and a falling population.
In 2022, China’s population fell for the first time in six decades,
China’s birth rate fell in 2022 to 6.77 births per 1,000 people, the lowest on record, from 7.52 in 2021.
Demographers warn that China will get old before it gets rich, as its workforce shrinks and indebted local governments spend more on their elderly population.
To encourage marriage and boost the country’s flagging birth rate, China said in May that it would launch pilot projects in more than 20 cities to create a “new-era” marriage and childbearing culture.
Some provinces are also giving young newly weds an extension of paid marriage leave. REUTERS
