According to statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, in 2024, there were 6.106 million registered marriages in China, a 20.5% decrease compared to the previous year. At the same time, the marriage rate is also declining. Despite the Chinese Communist government’s introduction of various policies, including cash incentives, to encourage people to have more children, many young Chinese people see marriage and childbirth as burdens due to economic slowdown, a tough job market, and shifting social values.
China’s total population has been declining for three consecutive years. Although the birth rate saw a slight increase in the Year of the Dragon in 2024, it remains the second-lowest since the establishment of the Chinese Communist regime.
Population structure has been the basis for China’s economic development for decades but has now become a major weakness for the Chinese Communist Party.
For years, the Chinese authorities strictly controlled the population through the one-child policy, employing propaganda, high fines, forced sterilization, and even forced abortions to enforce the policy.
The extreme one-child policy has led to worsening population issues in China, resulting in imbalanced population structure, a decrease in working-age population, population aging, and negative population growth.
Currently, the ratio of China’s working-age population to those aged 65 and above is about 4:1. Scholars estimate that by 2050, the proportion of the working-age population under 60 in China will be only half of the total population.
In 2016, Beijing changed its policy to allow each family to have two children; and in 2021, it further relaxed the policy to allow three children. However, the actual fertility rate has not improved.
This year, the Beijing government rolled out a nationwide policy where families with children born after January 1, 2025, under the age of 3, can receive 3,600 RMB annually per family. However, for many parents, this amount is considered meager.
According to a report released in 2024 by the Beijing YUWA Population Research Think Tank, China is one of the most expensive countries in the world to raise children: the cost of raising a child to 18 years old in China amounts to 538,312 RMB, more than six times the per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in China. In comparison, the ratio is four times in the United States and two times in Australia.
Recently, residents in Anhui Province, including cities like Lu’an, Bengbu, Chuzhou, and Huainan, have reported that the subsidies for the second child have been discontinued, and even some already disbursed subsidies are being reclaimed. A resident from Lu’an, Anhui, mentioned that the application for the second child subsidy was abruptly stopped. The expected amount was not received, and instead, they received a call from the local Health Commission informing them that all second-child subsidies in the province would be recollected, with the disbursed amounts deducted from childcare allowances and the undistributed amounts intercepted directly.
Insiders point out that local finances are tight, making it difficult for second-child families to receive the promised subsidies, a situation that has spread to several cities.
According to Bloomberg’s report, contemporary young people in China are facing a slowing economy and a challenging job market, leading to the disillusionment that the belief that “living standards will continue to rise” has been shattered, prompting more people to postpone marriage and childbirth.
This disillusionment with the future has evolved into a cultural phenomenon. Some individuals are adopting a “lying flat” attitude, choosing a life of low desires and giving up on striving; while others mockingly refer to themselves as “rat people,” entering a “decadent” mode, spending their days in rented rooms, surviving on cheap takeout, reversing day and night routines, and entirely withdrawing from social competition.
Emma Zang, an associate professor of sociology at Yale University, told Bloomberg, “As the Chinese economy slows down, upward mobility for young people becomes increasingly difficult. This cultural pessimism is the fundamental reason why the younger generation is unwilling to prioritize childbirth—they do not want to take on more responsibilities in their already exhausting lives.”
Zang added, “Raising children may lead to a decline in social status or income. If young people feel that life or society is hopeless, then having children is not a milestone for them; it becomes a burden.”
One netizen said, “This is why I don’t have children, because I don’t want to do a disservice to them. If I have children, what kind of life will they face?”
The post continued, “She was born at a disadvantage, becoming an ordinary person from the start. From the beginning of schooling, one must excel, through six years of middle school, studying until midnight every day, just to surpass other students and attend a good high school and university. After graduating, becoming a qualified screw, entering society.”
“Good grades lead to big companies, working 996 every day, even working until 11 pm, to the point of sudden death from exhaustion. Poor grades lead to working in factories, sitting on the assembly line for 12 hours a day, or standing for 12 hours a day carrying trays in restaurants, resulting in various illnesses. At the age of 35, losing the job, being older, unable to find work, only able to deliver takeouts. Struggling through harsh weather, shuttling in traffic to avoid overtime, ultimately perishing on the streets.”
The post concludes, “If I have children, I would be a sinner, a cruel, selfish, foolish bastard. How could I dare say I had children out of love for them? I must be filled with deep hatred towards children to subject them to such suffering! That is why I will not have children.”
The powerful message resonated with a large number of Internet users, receiving over 18,500 likes and numerous reposts.
(This text references a report from Bloomberg)