Number of marriages in China 2005-2023

 In 2023, approximately 7.68 million marriages were registered in China. This represents an increase by 12.4 percent from the previous year and the first annual increase since 2013.

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.