China aggravates their birth problem: marriages fall a fifth in a year

Marriages in China fell into a fifth last year Despite the multiple efforts of the authorities to encourage young couples to marry and have children to boost the declining population of the country.

More than 6.1 million couples registered to marry last year, compared to the 7.68 million of the previous year, according to the figures of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The decrease ininterest in marrying and form a family to andslight cost of education and the care of children in China. In addition, the slow economic growth of recent years has made it difficult for university graduates to find work and those who have employment feel insecure about their long -term perspectives.

But for Chinese authorities, the increase in interest in marriage and procreation is an urgent concern.

China has the second largest population in the world, with 1.4 billion inhabitants, but it is aging quickly.

From the only child’s policy to ‘education about love’

The birth rate fell for decades due to The only child’s policy which China applied between 1980 and 2015 and the rapid urbanization. And in the next decade it is expected that approximately 300 million Chinese (the equivalent of almost the entire population of the United States) will retire.

The measures adopted last year by the authorities to address the problem included China’s schools and universities to offer «Education about love» To emphasize positive views on marriage, love, fertility and family.

And in November, the China State or Cabinet Council ordered local governments to direct resources to solve China’s demographic crisis and disseminate respect for motherhood and marriages “at the right age.”

Last year there was a slight increase in births after a pause due to the pandemic and because 2024 was the year of the dragon in the Chinese zodiac, and it is considered that children born that year will probably be ambitious and will have great fortune.

But even with the increase in births, the population of the country fell for the third consecutive year.

The data also showed that more than 2.6 million couples requested divorce last year, 1.1% more than in 2023. (Farah Master report and the Beijing writing room; edited by Edwina Gibbs)