Beijing, Apr 23 (EFE).- A study carried out by a university in China said Tuesday that the high cost of marriage, added to other social factors, is contributing to the decline in the country’s fertility rate.
Academics from Renmin University said the average cost of a wedding amounts to RMB330,400 ($45,594), a figure that exceeds the national per capita income of 2023 eight times, state media Sixth Tone reported.
This economic factor is presented as the main obstacle to getting married, according to the survey carried out among specific groups such as singles, couples with late marriages, infertile people and those with few children.
More than 60 percent of respondents said the economic pressure associated with marriage is very high.
“The high average cost of marriage reflects strong economic pressure on couples and their families,” the study said.
Additionally, the time dedicated to dating or courtship also represents a cost not usually considered.
Furthermore, 72 percent of those surveyed said they had been pressured by family or friends to get married, but a factor that weighs even more is the negative influence of unhappy marriages on their environment.
On the decision to have children, the study highlights the availability of a person in charge of child care as a key factor.
Almost 70 percent of those surveyed said this aspect is decisive, but the social environment and birth support policies are next in importance. The research said most people get married looking for companionship and emotional support, not necessarily to start a family.
Only 30 percent of respondents cited raising children as a primary motivation for getting married. Registered marriages in China saw a significant increase in 2023, reversing a downward trend that had lasted almost a decade.
Civil affairs ministry data said there were 7.68 million marriages in 2023, a 12.4 percent increase year-on-year, from 6.83 million in 2022, the lowest figure since records began in 1986.
After seven years of continuous decline, China’s official statistics reveal a 10 percent increase in births during the first months of 2024, which could mean a rebound in birth rates during this auspicious Year of the Dragon in Asian tradition, according to various experts.
China reported a decline in its population in 2022 and 2023, the first contractions since 1961, when the number of inhabitants fell as a result of the failed Great Leap Forward industrialization policy and the resulting famine. EFE
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