In the first quarter of this year, a total of 1.697 million couples registered for marriage in China, representing a decrease of 6.24% compared to the same period last year. This record low level of marriage registration reflects the ongoing weak willingness of the population to get married.
According to data released by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs on May 9th, this year’s first quarter saw a total of 1.697 million couples registering for marriage, which is a decrease of 113,000 couples compared to the same period last year, resulting in a 6.24% drop.
Reported by Bloomberg, this data marks the lowest level for the same period since records began in 2013, even lower than the 2.79 million couples in the first quarter of 2020 during the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating that the willingness of young people in China to get married remains low even during the peak season for weddings.
After reaching a peak in 2013, the number of marriages in China has continued to decline, dropping from 13.469 million couples in 2013 to 6.835 million couples in 2022. Following the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions, the number rose to 7.682 million couples in 2023, only to drop again to 6.106 million couples in 2024. In 2025, with the cancellation of geographical restrictions on marriage registration, the number of registered marriages slightly rebounded to 6.763 million couples.
On the other hand, in the first quarter of this year, a total of 622,000 couples registered for divorce nationwide in China, remaining relatively stable compared to the same period in recent years. The increasing divergence between marriage and divorce registration numbers highlights the population pressure currently faced by China.