World · East Asia & Pacific · 10 hrs ago
China marriages fall nearly 10% to an 18-year low
China registered about 4.65 million marriages in the first nine months of 2026, according to Ministry of Civil Affairs data.
That was down nearly 10% from the same period a year earlier, and the lowest level in 18 years.
The decline follows a rebound in marriages in 2025, but a demographer said registrations were likely to fall for the full year.
In China, where childbearing remains closely linked to marriage, fewer marriages raise concern about future births.
China’s population fell for a fourth consecutive year in 2025, while its birth rate reached a record low.
Authorities have introduced family subsidies, childcare support and lower childbirth-related medical costs to encourage marriage and childbearing.
The government has also pledged to make urban life more supportive for young people and families, as the country faces growing demographic strain.
China recorded about 4.65 million marriages in the first nine months of 2026, nearly 10 per cent fewer than a year earlier.
The total was reported as the lowest in 18 years.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs data showed 504,000 fewer marriage registrations than in the same period a year earlier.
The decline has raised concerns about future births and demographic pressures, as childbearing in China remains closely tied to marriage.
Authorities have introduced measures including family subsidies, childcare support and lower childbirth-related medical costs.
- Who
- Couples registering marriages in China.
- What
- About 4.65 million couples married in the first nine months of 2026, a nearly 10 per cent decline year on year.
- When
- January to September 2026; the data was released on Wednesday.
- Where
- China.
- Why
- The sources link the figures to concerns about declining births and demographic strain; they do not state why fewer couples married.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
China saw a rebound in marriage registrations, according to SCMP.
China recorded about 4.65 million marriage registrations, down nearly 10 per cent from a year earlier.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs released the marriage-registration data.
- Marriage registrations
- 4.648 million in the first nine months of 2026, according to SCMP
- Year-on-year change
- Down 504,000 registrations, according to SCMP
- Marriage decline
- Nearly 10 per cent
- Divorces
- 2.08 million couples in January–September 2026, according to Straits Times
- Lowest level
- 18 years