In 2023, approximately 4.8 marriages per 1,000 inhabitants were registered in China. The marriage rate increased from around six in 2002 to nearly ten in 2013 and declined again thereafter. Marriages in China The peak of the marriage rate in 2013 and the corresponding wave in the number of marriages is strongly related to a larger size of age cohorts between 20 and 35 during that time which is reflected in China’s age pyramid. However, marriage habits have also changed significantly over the last two decades. While the share of people that do not get married is generally increasing, there is a strong shift towards later marriage, with the share of people aged 30 or above that get married increasing from 18.7 percent in 2005 to 47.6 percent in 2022. At the same time, both the number of divorces as well as the number of remarriages also increased. Current developments The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant effect on the divorce rate in China, which fell by more than one third between 2019 and 2021. However, the effect on marriages was comparatively small. As larger age cohorts are now entering marriage age, the number of marriages might increase again in the upcoming years. However, the general change of marriage habits mentioned above will most likely go on in the future.

 In 2024, approximately 6.106 million marriages were registered in China. This represents a decrease by 20.5 percent from the previous year and the lowest figure in recent years. Marriage in China In the last two decades, the number of registered marriages has grown from about 8.5 million in 2000, to a peak at almost 13.5 million in 2013. In the following years, the figure started dropping again, until it was at the same level again ten years later. A change in size of age cohorts between 20 and 29 years in the Chinese population corresponded with this development, but the falling marriage numbers may also be attributed to changing marriage habits in the Chinese society. This is reflected by an increasing divorce rate since 2000, which shows that the concept of divorce has become more accepted and less of a taboo in Chinese culture as it used to be. Dating scene in China Apart from the increased acceptance of divorces and change in social norms towards marriages, Chinese youngsters nowadays also have a harder time in finding partners or time to date, since Chinese workers experience the highest working hours in the region. This is echoed by the fact that a significant proportion of singles in China actually were professionals or employed in sectors under frequent time pressure such as media or finance. Even for couples who managed to find a partner in the end, almost one-fifth of couples could only see each other once every few years, which is a rather unfortunate situation, and did not make it easier for couples to further develop the relationship.

China Population: Number of Marriages data was reported at 7,682,141.000 Case in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 6,834,972.000 Case for 2022. China Population: Number of Marriages data is updated yearly, averaging 9,210,923.500 Case from Dec 1978 (Median) to 2023, with 46 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13,469,267.000 Case in 2013 and a record low of 5,978,171.000 Case in 1978. China Population: Number of Marriages data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: No of Marriage and Divorce.

The average marriage age in China has gradually increased over the years. In 2023, approximately 13.8 percent of people who got married that year were between 20 and 24 years of age, considerably less than in 2005, when 47 percent of newly married people belonged to that age group.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, approximately 1.36 million marriages were registered in China. The total number of marriages in 2024 amounted to approximately 6.11 million. This was 20.5 percent less than in the previous year.

As of 2023, the divorce rate in China decreased to 2.6 divorces per 1,000 inhabitants. Before 2020, this number had been constantly increasing since 2002. Divorce rate in Asian countries The divorce rate in China soared from around 0.96 divorces per 1,000 people in 2000 to 3.36 divorces in 2019. This is a quite high value compared to the divorce rate of countries in the Asia Pacific region. However, China shares the fate of a growing divorce rate with many other developing countries, while in most developed countries, the number of divorces per 1,000 inhabitants is either stable or falling. For example, the divorce rate in Singapore has been manly stable at 1.9 divorces per 1,000 inhabitants in the last ten years and the divorce rate in South Korea has fallen from 2.5 in 2009 to 1.8 in 2023. In comparison, the U.S. divorce rate has been falling since 1992 from 4.8 divorces per 1,000 people to 2.4 divorces in 2022. Dating scene in China For the younger generations, dating and marriage happens (if at all) at a much later life stage compared to their parents. The fact that China has the highest working hours in the region does not ease the dire situation for singles in China, most of them being employed as professionals or employed in the media sector, where long working hours and high work pressure are quite common.

Population: Number of Marriages: Beijing data was reported at 137,335.000 Case in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 91,300.000 Case for 2022. Population: Number of Marriages: Beijing data is updated yearly, averaging 137,576.500 Case from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 181,771.000 Case in 2009 and a record low of 76,000.000 Case in 2002. Population: Number of Marriages: Beijing data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: No of Marriage and Divorce.

Population: Number of Divorces: Shanghai data was reported at 42,951.000 Case in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 30,369.000 Case for 2022. Population: Number of Divorces: Shanghai data is updated yearly, averaging 46,422.000 Case from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2023, with 29 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 82,558.000 Case in 2016 and a record low of 22,595.000 Case in 1995. Population: Number of Divorces: Shanghai data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: No of Marriage and Divorce.

This statistic displays the number of Chinese citizens in Chinese-foreign marriages in Shanghai from 2006 to 2022. In 2022, 241 Chinese male citizens and 577 Chinese female citizens married foreigners in Shanghai.

Population: Number of Marriages: Guangdong data was reported at 632,192.000 Case in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 573,050.000 Case for 2022. Population: Number of Marriages: Guangdong data is updated yearly, averaging 731,674.500 Case from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 891,457.000 Case in 2014 and a record low of 497,000.000 Case in 2002. Population: Number of Marriages: Guangdong data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: No of Marriage and Divorce.

In 2023, approximately 5.8 million people aged between 25 and 29 years registered their marriage in China, accounting for more than one-third of the total number. In recent years, more Chinese prefer to delay their marriages. A decade ago, almost 40 percent of the newlyweds were between 20 and 24 years old.

Population: Number of Marriages: Inner Mongolia data was reported at 142,370.000 Case in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 114,637.000 Case for 2022. Population: Number of Marriages: Inner Mongolia data is updated yearly, averaging 169,933.000 Case from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 221,612.000 Case in 2013 and a record low of 114,637.000 Case in 2022. Population: Number of Marriages: Inner Mongolia data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: No of Marriage and Divorce.

Macau Number of Marriages data was reported at 277.000 Person in Sep 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 245.000 Person for Aug 2018. Macau Number of Marriages data is updated monthly, averaging 234.000 Person from Jan 2000 (Median) to Sep 2018, with 225 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 476.000 Person in Jan 2013 and a record low of 64.000 Person in Apr 2001. Macau Number of Marriages data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics and Census Service. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Macau SAR – Table MO.G004: Vital Statistics.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 in early 2020 and the recurring epidemic in later years have disturbed China’s economy. Moreover, China’s demographic dividend has been disappearing due to its fastest aging population and declining birth rate. The birth rates in eastern provinces of China are much lower than those of the western provinces. Considering the impacts of the COVID-19 and aging population, this paper focused on the relationship between birth rate and the disposable income and tried to find effective measures to raise China’s birth rate. We discovered through regression analysis that the link between per capita disposable income and birth rate is initially "reverse J" and later "inverted J", indicating that per capita disposable income will influence the birth rate. Women’s employment rate and educational level are negatively correlated with the birth rate. To raise the fertility rate in China, it is necessary to increase the marriage rate and the willingness to have children by raising the per capita disposable income and introducing effective tax relief policies.

Population: Number of Divorces: Sichuan data was reported at 251,644.000 Case in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 216,674.000 Case for 2022. Population: Number of Divorces: Sichuan data is updated yearly, averaging 198,168.000 Case from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2023, with 29 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 319,373.000 Case in 2019 and a record low of 96,538.000 Case in 1998. Population: Number of Divorces: Sichuan data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: No of Marriage and Divorce.

In 2023, around 3.42 million people were remarried in China. Over the last two decades, the number of remarriages increased gradually until 2019 despite the fact that the total number of marriages decreased after 2013.

AimsThe aims for this study was to prove the impacts of marital events (marriage rate, divorce rate and marriage squeeze), economic development, and social development on the suicide rate among urban and rural Chinese and reveal the differences in these impacts between urban and rural areas and between genders.MethodsAn explanatory time-series analysis methodology was adopted to analyze the nation-wide data ranging from 1987–2017.ResultsMarriage rate was a protective factor against the suicide rate among urban and rural men, and rural women; however, divorce rate was a protective factor against the suicide rate only among rural women. For the four groups, the economic development level measured by per capita GDP is a protective factor, while social development measured by urbanization and rural–urban labor migration rates in rural areas plays different roles.ConclusionsMarriage and divorce rates were found to have different meanings for the four groups. This study offers a reference for designing relevant policies and projects to intervene in suicidal behaviors among different groups.

This statistic shows the number of registered marriages in China in 2023, by region. In 2023, approximately 371,100 marriages were registered in Hebei province.

Population: Number of Marriages: Hainan data was reported at 56,897.000 Case in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 51,441.000 Case for 2022. Population: Number of Marriages: Hainan data is updated yearly, averaging 64,559.000 Case from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 129,952.000 Case in 2009 and a record low of 32,000.000 Case in 2002. Population: Number of Marriages: Hainan data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: No of Marriage and Divorce.

Per capita disposable income of urban residents in different regions Unit: Yuan.