Beijing 1st, September : China registered the most marriages this year, the smallest since the public records began nearly three decades agoraising fears that the country is facing an imminent population crisis, media reports stated.
In 2021, there were 7.6 million marriage registrations in 2021, figures published by China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs last week revealed, CNN reported.
It’s the lowest since 1986 when the ministry began publically releasing its figures according to the state-owned Global Times, marking a 6.1 percent drop over the prior year.It’s the eighth year in a row that marriage rates fell.
In the same way the age average of newlyweds is increasing, with nearly half of the couples that were married last year 30 and over.
The numbers show a trend that is increasing cause for anxiety for the officials in the world’s largest nation, which is home to 1.4 billion people.Young people, particularly those in their twenties, are increasingly opting not to marry or have children.
And even if they do they usually have children later in the course of their lives, CNN reported.
Experts warn that the knock-on effect of the already declining workforce may have a devastating impact on the economic stability and stability in society.
Within just six years the amount of Chinese couples who were married for the first time dropped by 41 percent between 23.8 million in 2013 to 13.9 million in 2019 According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics.
The decline is due to years of policies that were designed to slow the growth in China’s population which means there are younger people of married age according to Chinese social scientists and officials.
However, it’s also the consequence of changing attitudes towards marriage, particularly for younger women who are getting economically independent and educated, CNN reported.
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