While fewer Chinese couples are willing to tie the knot these days, many of those who do choose to walk down the aisle at a later stage in their lives, according to recently released data.
Last year, 7.64 million marriages were registered in China, a 6.1 percent year-on-year decrease, according to a Ministry of Civil Affairs report.
What's more, it's the record low for the 36 years since the ministry started releasing the report in 1986.
结婚时间也越来越晚？
The number of marriage registrations has been declining for eight consecutive years. And 48.2 percent of those who registered to become newlyweds last year were older than 30, setting a record, according to the report.
Last year, the number of newborns in China fell to 10.62 million, compared with 12 million in 2020.
According to the National Health Commission, China's population growth is set to turn negative, with more deaths than births, by 2025 as the rate has slowed down in the past few years.
为什么人们不愿结婚了？
Guo Xiamei, an associate professor at Xiamen University who specializes in family studies, said: "The COVID-19 epidemic may be a cause of the decline in the desire to marry because it has reduced the chances of meeting potential partners. The economic difficulties that resulted from the epidemic, may also have contributed to the decline."
"The structure of marriage and family is to build a system to keep society stable, but more and more people think the other way. Marriage, in many people's mind, becomes a risky decision," Guo added. 郭教授补充道："传统观念认为，婚姻和家庭的意义在于，通过这项制度来维护社会稳定。但现在越来越多的人持相反态度。在很多人看来，结婚充满着风险。”
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