China’s national marriage rate has dropped to 7.2 per 1,000 in 2018, the lowest level in the last 11 years, according to data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Official data suggests that the marriage rate has a negative correlation with high performing regional economies – the marriage rate of Shanghai whose 2018 GDP topped the national ranking for cities was 4.4 per 1,000, the lowest in the country, followed by Zhejiang Province, whose 2018 GDP ranked fourth among 31 provinces and regions. Other developed cities, such as Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province and the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin also saw low marriage rates.
Experts attributed the low rate to the changing population structure affected by externalities – the decrease in the marriageable population is caused by a longer education period, high housing prices, intense employment competition and the high value the younger generations place on freedom and individualism.
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