BEIJING: China, which has been releasing a slew of measures to bolster its sagging population levels, recorded a drop in marriage registrations for the first nine months of 2024, according to official data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
For the first three quarters of the year, 4.747 million couples were registered nationwide. That is a year-on-year decrease of 943,000, a Reuters calculation of the data showed.
The government released the latest data on Friday (Nov 1).
In 2023, 5.69 million marriage registrations were recorded for the first nine months, an increase from 2022.
Growing economic uncertainty and rising living costs across the country have forced many young couples to delay marriage, a troubling sign for lawmakers who have been pushing policies to boost a shrinking population.
China recently revised a draft law that makes it simpler for couples to register marriages, while filing for divorce will become tougher.
