Given the population decline China has experienced in recent years and the low number of marriages, one region of the country will reward couples who marry young.
It costs 1,000 yuan (about 127 euros) and aims to promote marriage among the youngest, anticipating the increase in the birth rate in the country. The Changshan region of eastern China offers newlywed couples a monetary reward if the bride is under 25 years of age.
According to The Guardian, in addition to monetary, the reward also includes subsidies for childcare, fertility and education for couples who already have children. The measure plans to promote “age-appropriate marriage and maternity” for first marriages.
China announces new measures to boost birth rate
With 2022 to register the lowest rate of marriages —since 1986— and fertility in China, the concern of the authorities to implement measures to improve the birth situation in the country has increased. Last year there were 6.8 million marriages, 800,000 less than in 2021, and the birth rate dropped to 6.77 births per thousand inhabitants. In addition to monetary incentives, the measures include improved child care facilities.
Despite authorities abolishing the one-child policy in 2016, allowing up to three children per couple, births have continued to decline over the past six years.
China experiences first population decline in more than half a century
However, it is not just the lack of marriages that has slowed the country’s rising birth rate. Among the reasons are policies that make it difficult for single women to have children, the threat of career delays for mothers, gender discrimination, or the high costs of childcare.
Low consumer confidence and growing concerns about the Chinese economy are also factors cited by young Chinese for not wanting to get married and have children, the British newspaper advances.
Source: Observadora
