this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2025
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Summary

China's marriage rate hit a record low in 2024, with only 6.1 million marriages, a 20% drop from 2023 and the lowest since records began in 1986.

Rising costs, youth unemployment, changing gender roles, and a growing preference for single life contribute to the trend. Government incentives to boost marriage and birth rates have largely failed.

Social attitudes are shifting, with less family pressure to marry, skepticism over restrictive divorce laws, and calls for same-sex marriage recognition.

Experts warn this decline could accelerate China’s demographic and economic challenges.

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[–] [email protected] 89 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

Many commenters also cited the controversial introduction of a divorce cooling-off period in 2021, making them wary of the “easy entry and strict exit” for marriage.

I had missed the introduction of this in 2021.

"The law requires couples who are mutually seeking a divorce to wait for 30 days before formalising it. If the couples don’t show up for two appointments between 30 and 60 days after applying, their application is automatically cancelled."

"In February Chinese media reported fully booked appointment slots in Shenzhen, Shanghai and other cities, with some being sold by scalpers."

source

That would certainly be a disincentive to get married if you could not get out of it if you needed to.

[–] [email protected] 55 points 1 month ago

They reward increasing the number of people who are formally married, rather than the number of stable couples.
Such a wonderful example of misaligned incentives, only a politician could come up with it.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 month ago (4 children)

In the great state of Wisconsin, there is a 120 day waiting period after filing and paying the Clerk of the Circuit Court. After the 120 days then you can obtain a date for a final court hearing before it becomes legally accepted

So it could be much worse. It could be Wisconsin

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Does Wisconsin require showing up for two or more “appointments” during those 120 days?

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago

Yea from what I can tell, it's the same but worse

First before you even have the wait period you must go to court in order to file for the waiting period to begin. Additionally you have to pay a fee to even begin the wait process

After the 120 days is up, you have a period of time to gather docs and obtain a court date for the final hearing. Failing to prepare during this period or engage the court for the final hearing will likely restart the entire process including waiting another 120 days and having to file and pay the fee with the Circuit Court

I honestly can't tell from the article what "appointment" means but it sure seems synonymous with us having to go to court multiple times to initiate the process and conclude it

If I replace court appearances with appointment to align with the article. Then in WI you have a bare minimum of two appointments. If you have kids or need petitions for support to go through with the motion. You can have up to four appointments. Not acknowledging you may be forced to complete parenting courses before the final hearing is allowed to occur

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

It's wrong, but I don't see it as a big deal either. If someone is escaping an abusive marriage, and can escape, being legally married carries no weight. And that's the worst case scenario.

Ex and I split amicably (mostly), went our separate ways. We were married for a couple of years afterwards because we were too lazy to pull the trigger.

Are there situations where waiting 4-months hurts someone?

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 month ago (1 children)

If someone is escaping an abusive marriage, and can escape, being legally married carries no weight.

Other than the fact that an abuser can just hold all your property hostage for 4 months and leave you with either A) no legal claim to your belongings or B) no choice but to return to your abuser?

Are there situations where waiting 4-months hurts someone?

Why should be not be as easy to exit a contract as it is to enter one?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

How does being married or not change that? Say I beat my wife and she runs away. She can get a police escort to get some of her things. I've been on the escorted end of that scenario. (Obviously they won't wait for a moving service.)

no legal claim to your belongings

So you're saying the law considers everything in a home the property of the person remaining, if they're married? You should meet some people going through a divorce. It ain't like that.

Of course it should be easy to divorce. My first two words: "It's wrong..."

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Being legally married carries weight.

I have no idea how you think it doesn't.

Your amblicable split is not an example of how the process of a divorce with an abusive partner. It's the furtherest it can get.

Absolutely dumbfounded here.

If this wasn't trolling or sarcasm, you are not a clearly not wise person. I'm sorry if I'm the first to let you know.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Your post would be more valuable if you did not directly insult them at the end. Im not sure why you made that choice.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

All that and you can't provide a single example of consequences? That's literally all I asked for.

The point of my anecdote was that nothing changed in our lives despite remaining married.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

1 year here in Germany lol

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

North Carolina, it is a year.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Any system is bad when scalping becomes a thing.

[–] [email protected] 45 points 1 month ago (3 children)

There are some rumours about this. A lot of women and their families expect the husband to have a car, house, well paying job and paying a five figure (in USD) bridal price, while preferably be below 30 years. With the economy as it is, few men qualify. It's also expected from a lot of men to give his complete wage to the wife. Government goes along with that, and flavors the women in a divorce. Turns out a lot of guys just say f this, and don't get married anymore.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 month ago

Without mentioning "China" in your body, I feel like this comment could be pasted under low romance rates happening across a dozen countries.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 month ago

So neither men nor women want to get married under the currebt circumstances.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

The men are also very picky. ~~Women outnumber men,~~ (Wrong. Men outnumber women by, like, a lot. Don't ask where I got that from) but they are also looking for a certain age, body type, and background. People are even buying/kidnapping little girls to raise as brides for their sons so they can mold them versus just finding a bride. Half of the time, they don't want the women available. They're too old, too fat, too ugly, divorced, have kids, outspoken, and all the other things that they've been conditioned to dislike. Also, a lot of women have rough married lives over there.

Women also belong to the groom's family in a way. If you "only" have a daughter, you really have one shot (and a clicking clock) for both you and her to pick the "best" family. Society has made it to where a woman is expected to serve her household and handle whatever they throw at her, but then punish them for wanting to pick the cage they're locking themselves into. Like, yeah, if it's super hard to get divorced, let alone marry again, and the man/family I'm marrying has a lot of power over me, and I'll be under the households thumb, I'm going to at least make sure I'm take care of. If their society was more equal, I think they'd be able to marry more for love/desire/want than security. But women over there don't get a lot of agency so they take it where they can.

Bith sides are saying "fuck it." Men don't want to be wage slaves and women don't want to be indentured bang maids.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Women outnumber men

Wait, did the topic of the conversation change? Because China absolutely does not have more women than men.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Lord, you're right. Thanks for the fact check.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (3 children)

If their society was more equal, I think they’d be able to marry more for love/desire/want than security.

They'd have that possibility, but in at lot of western countries where that possibility is larger marriage rates are lower than in China.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Experts warn this decline could accelerate China’s demographic and economic challenges.

I'll say it again. The labor market is a market.

Lower supply ==> higher price.

In the context of the labor market: Fewer workers ==> higher wages. That is good for the workers.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

That's a very interesting read. Thank you.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Old people is where that gets messy. But it's absolutely true

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Old people is where that gets messy

... as long as you assume that retirement has to be paid for by the worker's taxes.

Rich taxes would solve the problem well enough, i think.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

So so. It still takes a worker out of the market for their care. Which from above is established to be at a premium.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Inb4 China stops reporting this. Just like they did with youth unemployment

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

Or the democracy protests, pre-covid

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 month ago

I had a Chinese colleague who was in a "relationship" with her idol and thought it was way more convenient than a real partner. I am fully ready to see people be openly happy with AI partners and never try to have real partners.
Especially because it's hard to have a social life when you're asked to work 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week, or worse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/996_working_hour_system

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago

Births are tightly linked to marriage in China, with childbearing out of wedlock discouraged by traditional values and various government regulations.

“Various government regulations”? Damn, dude. Like what? Maybe easing up on those regulations would help the birth rate a bit.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Boost birth rates? Sure.

Boost marriage? Uh why? You can do all the things without a piece of paper.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Being economically leftist doesn't mean you aren't culturally conservative. Births out of wedlock in China and really most of east Asia are exceedingly rare. The household registration system they use to allow families access to things like education and healthcare is tied into marriage certificates.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It would be good to back that up with actual arguments.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I thought overpopulation was pretty well known by know. American education system?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

It's not overpopulation that is the problem, it's overconsumption of natural resources. Population will not grow indefinitely, see the notion of demographic transition. It would possible to live sustainably with the estimated population peak if we respect consumptions quotas such as the 2 tones of CO2 per year per capita. Most developed country people are far above this though.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Or we could have fewer people with higher living standards, humanity does not get extra points for maintaining a high body count.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

The living standard doesn't have to be proportional to natural resources consumption. For example, many people would rather live in a walkable 20 min city than needing a car and getting stuck for hours in traffic.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

🤦‍♂️

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Good, weddings are a stupid human invention.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Well yeah, who wants to put a Chinese kid through what their parents have to live through?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

There was this experiment with a rat city that showed behavioral changes in large populations. Coupled with lack of child and aged care in China, completely unsurprising that this would happen.

Additionally, when you have digital boyfriends like Love and Deepspace, who can blame the ladies for wanting something low effort and convenient?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Maybe people should look into human trafficking into "bride" by Chinese with unfortunate women from neighbouring countries.

Even after giving birth to male child, some women are sold to next man in line. Quite a fuckery ignored by CCP.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Ah the millennial sexual revolution.

But for real, Chinese people are just people but in China. Some of their conditions are different like the gender disparity but many are similar

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