China’s population woes deepen as marriage registrations tumble
Marriage registrations in China could fall to as low as 6.01 million this year, prompting cash incentives from some local governments
China is on track to post its lowest number of marriage registrations since 1980 this year, with an estimate from a leading demographer suggesting as few as 6 million couples would tie the knot, prompting local governments to hand out cash incentives.
In the first nine months of the year, 4.75 million couples registered a marriage, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, representing a 16.6 per cent drop compared to the same period in 2023.
Only 1.32 million marriages were registered in the third quarter, with the figure dropping by more than 25 per cent from a year earlier, marking the lowest quarterly reading since 2008.
And based on the proportion of the quarterly numbers released on Friday to the annual total, China could see between 6.01 million to 6.59 million marriage registrations this year, according to an estimate from independent demographer He Yafu.
China’s low marriage and birth rates, coupled with an overall population decline, have emerged as critical challenges weighing on sluggish economic growth, presenting one of the biggest dilemmas that could hinder long-term development and labour market stability.
