Number of marriages in China hit a record low last year, say authorities

Number of marriages in China peaked in 2013 when 13.46 couples registered to get hitched

The number of marriages in China hit a new low in 2021 dropping to its lowest levels ever since records began to be kept in 1986.

Data shared by China’s civil affairs ministry showed a total 7.63 million couples registered to get married last year, reported the state-run Global Times newspaper.

In comparison, more than 8.13 million were registered in 2020.

Last year’s tally accounted for only 56.6 per cent of the number of marriages registered in 2013 when a peak of 13.46 couples had registered to be married, according to state-run news website Yicai Global.

The ministry pointed out that marriage rates were the lowest in Shanghai and Zhejiang, Fujian, Hebei, and Hunan provinces.

The highest marriages on the other hand were registered in Tibet, Qinghai, Guizhou, Anhui, and Ningxia.

Experts said the drop in marriage rates in the country was due to the fact that women’s dependence on marriages has decreased.

“As their [women’s] education and economic independence levels increase, the percentage of women who are single is increasing,” independent demographer He Yafu told the South China Morning Post.

“They don’t need to be dependent on a husband or married to live well.”

Yi Fuxian, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told SCMP that the country’s Covid pandemic restrictions had also contributed to fewer marriages.

“Combined with the fact that many people have given up on having children, the epidemic will result in millions of fewer new births.”

Along with declining number of marriages, the country has also seen a fall in the number of divorces in the last year.

The ministry data showed that a total of 2.14 million couples registered for divorce in 2021 in comparison to 3.73 couples in 2020.

Prior to 2020, divorces had increased for three consecutive years with 3.69 million in 2017, 3.8 million in 2018 and 4.04 million in 2019, Global Times reported.

Mr He added that the decreasing number of marriages would have an impact on China’s population.

He predicted that the country may face negative population growth this year due to insufficient childbirth encouragement policies.

While China’s population is the largest in the world, it has barely grown in recent years in part due to the one-child policy implemented from 1980, with a system of fines for violators and even forced abortions.

Last year, China had allowed couples to have up to three children by relaxing its laws on family planning since the end of the “one-child policy” in 2013.