Beijing, Feb 10 (EFE).- The number of marriages ed in China during 2024 fell to 6.1 million couples, the lowest figure since records began in 1980, the ministry of civil affairs said.
The figure represents a new decline after the rebound experienced in 2023 following consecutive years of decline, according to the statistical report for the fourth quarter of 2024 released by the ministry and reported by local media on Monday.
In 2023, 7.68 million marriages were recorded in the Asian country, compared to 6.83 million in 2022, a figure that already marked a historic low.
Chinese experts said that the 2023 surge may have been due to factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to a reduction in personal interaction between men and women and a possible postponement of marriages until after the pandemic period.
Experts attribute the decline in the number of marriage registrations since 2014 to a decrease in the young population, gender imbalance, with more men than women among the young population, the postponement of the age of first marriage, high costs of getting married and changing attitudes towards marriage.
At the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, held in 2022, the ruling party stressed that the country needed a system that increased birth rates and reduced the costs of pregnancy, childbirth, schooling and parenting.
China reported a decline in its population in 2022, 2023 and 2024, the first contractions since 1961, when the number of inhabitants fell as a result of the failed Great Leap Forward industrialization policy and the resulting famine. EFE
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