Population In China Decreases Rapidly As Lesser People Are Getting Married

New Delhi, 25th November 2021: In China, the world’s most populous country, the problem of a declining population has intensified. In addition to the falling birth rate in China, fewer people are getting married, which has exacerbated the crisis.

The recently released ‘China Statistical Yearbook 2021’ data shows that the number of marriage registrations in China has declined for seven consecutive years, reaching a 17-year low last year.

According to data released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, a total of 58.7 lakh couples married in China in the first three quarters of 2021, slightly less than the same period last year. China’s state-run newspaper China Daily reported on Wednesday that it is feared that the number of marriage registrations in China will continue to decline in 2021.

This is another reason for the falling birth rate, according to the book’s data. The birth rate in China last year was 0.852 per cent, which is below one per cent for the first time since 1978.

Seeing the demographic crisis deepening, China ended the decades-old one-child policy to allow all couples to have two children in 2016 and this year amended the policy to allow couples to have three children. China’s population is growing at the slowest pace among official estimates. The population here has become 1.412 billion.

Outlining the reasons for the decline in marriage registration, demographer He Yafu cited the decline in youth numbers in China as one of the reasons. He cited the National Bureau of Statistics as saying that China’s population declined since the late 80s, 90s and 2000s. The expert told China Daily that due to high work pressure and improving women’s education levels and economic freedom, interest in marriage among young people has also decreased.

Another major reason, the expert said, is the imbalanced ratio of the male and female population. In China, males outnumber females by 3.49 lakh according to the seventh national census.

Yafu said there are 1.75 lakh more men in their 20s than women of marriageable age.

Apart from this, rising housing prices and expensive residential complexes are also major obstacles in the way of getting married and having children.