China’s Marriage Rates Decline Amid High Unemployment

Fewer Chinese people are getting married, according to data released by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs on June 14.

Some China watchers believe that the trend is being driven by the high cost of marriage and overwhelming economic pressures on young people.

In the first quarter of 2024, marriage registrations in China totaled 1.969 million couples, down from 2.147 million couples in the same period of 2023, reflecting a decrease of 178,000 couples, or an 8.3 percent decline.

Since the marriage registration peak of 13.27 million couples in 2013, China experienced nearly a decade of steadily declining marriage registrations until 2023, when there was a 12.4 percent jump in the number of new marriages compared with the prior year.

The number of marriages was 7.68 million couples in 2023, up 847,000 couples from 6.833 million in 2022. However, divorce registrations also increased by 493,000 couples, from 2.1 million in 2022 to 2.59 million in 2023.

Ji Feng, a prominent figure in the 1989 student movement and an artist, told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times, that younger people have less appetite for marriage than in the past. He said had noticed several of his acquaintances’ offspring in their thirties, and even forties show no interest.

“In my time, people typically married by 25,” he said. However, his nephew and niece, both around 25 years old, have shown no interest in marriage. “My niece hasn’t even pursued a serious relationship.”

Mr. Ji said, “Many people I know, including college graduates and some postgraduates, are currently unemployed and staying at home. Especially among those whose parents hold government positions, quite a few are in this situation.”

Mr. Ji, a leader of the Guizhou University Students’ Autonomous Federation during the 1989 student protest, has endured ongoing repression and surveillance under the Chinese communist regime.

“The economic downturn has left many struggling to afford even basic meals, shifting priorities towards survival above all else. For most, marriage has taken a back seat. The primary focus is now on securing a livelihood, finding employment, and pursuing meaningful work. Survival has become the utmost priority,” Mr. Ji said.

Gu Ming (pseudonym), who lives in the Hongkou District of Shanghai, told The Epoch Times that he graduated from university three years ago and started working as a teacher at a training institution. However, amid a regulatory crackdown on the tutoring sector, he found himself unemployed.

“Fortunately, my parents have an income, or else I wouldn’t be able to support myself,” he explained. “I do want to get married, but financial stability is essential for that.”

In July 2021, Beijing began cracking down on the for-profit tutoring industry following the instructions of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who banned after-school programs on core school subjects.

Mr. Zhang (pseudonym), who holds a Ph.D. in economics and is a freelance professional, told The Epoch Times, “With unemployment rates so high and job opportunities scarce, especially in small and medium-sized cities and rural areas, how can anyone afford to marry without a stable income? Especially considering that, in accordance with Chinese tradition, weddings typically involve a banquet.”

Chinese wedding banquets are a lavish multi-course feast that’s traditionally paid for by the groom’s parents.

According to a research report by the Chinese scholar Zhang Dandan, an associate professor at Peking University, the actual youth unemployment rate in March last year could be as high as 46.5 percent.

In China today, buying a house and a car has become a prerequisite for marriage, but housing prices remain prohibitively high. “The high housing prices are one of the root causes [of] why people choose not to marry,” Mr. Zhang said.

He said that the regime’s economic development model not only results in high housing prices but also leads to high medical expenses, costly education, increased childcare costs, and other issues that contribute to Chinese citizens choosing not to marry and have children.

Mr. Ji said, “Young people feel hopeless, they are in despair.”

He believes that persistently low marriage rates have profound implications for China. “They result in population decline, cultural fragmentation, and a shortage of labor and talent, which ultimately lead to sustained economic decline,” Mr. Ji said.