Marriage registration data shows that China had a total of 3.43 million married couples in the first half of 2024, down 498,000 from the same period last year.

The number of marriages in China is closely linked to the number of children born, and the decline could frustrate policymakers trying to boost a population that has been falling for years.

In China, marriage is considered a prerequisite for having children because policy requires parents to present a marriage certificate to register their children and receive state benefits.

Many young Chinese are choosing to stay single or delay marriage because of poor job prospects and worries about the future as the world's second-largest economy slows.

China's marriage rate has been falling since 2014. Despite a slight increase in 2023 as pandemic restrictions are eased in response to pent-up demand, this year's rate is expected to fall to its lowest level since 1980, according to demography expert He Yafu.

Reasons for the decline in marriage registrations include a decline in the number of young people, a higher number of men of marriageable age than women, high costs of marriage and changing attitudes towards marriage, he said.

"In the long term, the trend of declining birth rates in China is unlikely to change fundamentally unless significant pro-natal policies are implemented in the future to address the challenge," he said.

Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)