China's marriage registrations this year may be the lowest since 1980

Official Chinese data show that the number of marriage registrations in the first half of this year was 498,000 fewer than the same period last year. Some Chinese scholars predict that the number of marriage registrations in 2024 may reach the lowest level since 1980.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs of China announced on its official website last Friday (August 2, 2024) that 3.43 million couples registered for marriage nationwide in the first half of this year, 3.928 million couples in the first half of 2023, and 6.94 million couples in the same period of 2014.

Some scholars believe that there are many reasons for the decline in the number of marriage registrations, including the decrease in the number of young people, the imbalance in the gender ratio of the marriageable population, the postponement of the age of first marriage, the high cost of marriage, and the change in marriage concepts. In addition, the number of births in some regions increased slightly in the first few months of 2024, but considering the downward trend in the number of marriage registrations this year, the number of births in 2025 may decline again.