In recent years, the divorce rate in China has been steadily rising. The increasing difficulty in making divorce “appointments” has given rise to a booming “appointment agency” business. Analysis points out that with too many divorce cases, government officials are overwhelmed, leading to a daily limit on divorce appointments and the emergence of agents; the major cause of the surge in divorces is the continuous economic downturn.
Chinese divorces require appointments for both the “application” and “registration” processes. Starting from New Year’s Day in 2021, with the implementation of the “Cooling-off Period for Divorces” in the Civil Code, couples must first make an appointment to file for divorce. After 30 days, if both parties have not rescinded their divorce application, they can then schedule a date and time for the divorce registration.
Recently, the difficulty in securing divorce appointments has become a hot topic. Due to the overwhelming demand for divorce appointments exceeding the official daily quota, many people across regions find it extremely challenging to secure a slot, often resorting to fighting for the limited slots released at midnight.
According to a report by Reuters on June 17th, due to the challenge of obtaining divorce appointments, there is a rise in the popularity of “divorce appointment agents” services on Chinese social media, helping individuals snatch specific time slots for divorce appointments.
One part-time medical worker providing this agency service mentioned that the fee for the service is 400 yuan (RMB). She needs to quickly fill out the client’s divorce appointment information on the official website before midnight, then hit confirm at the top of the hour. Missing by a few seconds could mean the daily quota for divorce appointments fills up immediately.
She stated that since starting part-time work in March, she has already earned 5000 yuan, with many more inquiries coming in, expecting her income to increase further. With the current economic hardships, high work pressure, and increasing marital conflicts in China, it is anticipated that the divorce rate will continue to rise.
Individuals who have gone through the divorce process shared that it took them multiple attempts before successfully completing their divorce appointments. Before finalizing the divorce, there was a constant fear of their ex-spouse changing their decision to divorce. For one individual, the reason for divorce was her ex-husband’s risky stock market investments leading to significant losses annually, which was the final straw that broke the camel’s back in their marriage.
On June 18th, former Beijing lawyer and Chairman of the Alliance of Canadian Chinese for Democracy, Jianping Lai, stated to the media that appointment agents essentially queue up on behalf of individuals seeking divorce, indicating that there are too many divorce cases for government officials to handle, leading to daily appointment limits. To make things easier, individuals choose to have someone else act as a “scalper,” similar to queuing up at a hospital, illustrating that marriages and families are rapidly disintegrating, with divorces becoming increasingly common.
According to the Statistical Data of Civil Affairs for the first quarter of 2025 released by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs in April, during the first quarter of this year, there were 1.81 million marriages registered and 630,000 divorces. In comparison, during the first quarter of 2024, there were 1.969 million marriages and 573,000 divorces registered.
This shows that there was a decrease of 159,000 marriages registered and an increase of 57,000 divorces compared to the same period the previous year.
Data from the “China Statistical Yearbook 2024” shows that in 2023, there were 3.6053 million divorces, an increase of 726,000 compared to 2022, marking a 25.2% surge, with a divorce rate of 2.56‰. Before the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the divorce rate in 2019 was 3.36‰, and 3.20‰ in 2018.
Lai believes that the official divorce rate in China is likely underestimated, with the actual rate considerably higher than reported, questioning how it could be possible that only 5.2 out of 1000 people are divorced.
The calculation methods for the “divorce rate” vary, resulting in different outcomes. Some use the “divorce-to-marriage ratio,” while Chinese official statistics typically utilize the “annual number of divorces/population average” to calculate the divorce rate, which yields lower numbers.
However, Chinese official data often hides unfavorable situations, suggesting the actual data could be even worse.
Lai argues that the high divorce rate in China stems from various factors, with the most critical being economic. He highlights that the continuous economic downturn in China over the years, coupled with industry stagnation, has led to an increase in financial pressure on every family, escalating domestic conflicts.
He explains that under normal circumstances, minor spousal conflicts are relatively easy to resolve. However, as financial strains mount in households, various conflicts intensify, leading to a complete breakdown in spousal relationships and ultimately culminating in divorces.
Professor Guoxiang Sun from the Department of International Affairs and Business at Nanhua University in Taiwan also acknowledges that economic pressure exacerbates family conflicts, especially in low-income young families burdened with housing loans and childcare responsibilities, making them more susceptible to relationship conflicts and marital breakdowns. During economic recessions or declining income, the erosion of mutual confidence in the future life weakens the motivation to sustain marriages.
Nevertheless, he suggests that economic pressure serves as a catalyst, and there are numerous reasons contributing to the significant post-pandemic surge in divorce rates.
Firstly, there is a deferred effect following the Cooling-off Period for Divorces. The implementation of this regulation in 2021 prompted individuals who had initially planned for divorce to postpone or abandon their decisions, creating a short-term suppression. The rise in divorce rates in 2023-2024 partly reflects the release of pent-up demand.
Secondly, the prolonged periods of cohabitation during the pandemic lockdown heightened conflicts between spouses, and as life returned to normal, underlying tensions became more apparent, accelerating divorce intentions.
Thirdly, there is a shift in personal values towards individualism and changing views on marriage. The traditional concepts of “tolerance for the sake of children” and “compromising for reputation” in marriages are rapidly fading.
Lai also notes that there is a shift in mindset among some individuals, particularly the younger generation, where traditional values are diminishing, indicating that economic factors are evidently secondary to this shift in attitude.