中國結婚率跌至歷史最低點

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Marriages in China slump to historic low

Sun, June 11, 2023 at 5:45 a.m. PDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - Marriages in China dropped in 2022 to their lowest since records began, local news outlet Yicai reported on Sunday, continuing a steady decline over the past decade although the matrimonial total may have been affected by stringent COVID lockdowns.

Just 6.83 million couples completed their marriage registrations last year, data published on the website of the Ministry of Civil Affairs showed, down about 800,000 from the previous year.

The drop in couples tieing the knot, which follows pandemic restrictions keeping tens of millions locked in their homes or compounds for weeks last year, comes as authorities deal with a declining birth rate and a falling population.

In 2022 China's population fell for the first time in six decades, a decline that is expected to mark the start of a long period of decline in its citizen numbers with profound implications for its economy and the world.

China's birth rate fell last year to 6.77 births per 1,000 people, the lowest on record, from 7.52 in 2021.

Demographers warn China will get old before it gets rich, as its workforce shrinks and indebted local governments spend more on their elderly population.

To encourage marriage and boost the country's flagging birth rate, China said last month it would launch pilot projects in more than 20 cities to create a "new-era" marriage and childbearing culture.

Some provinces are also giving young newlyweds an extension of paid marriage leave.

(Reporting by Martin Quin Pollard and Ellen Zhang; Editing by David Holmes)

Translation

北京（路透社） - 據當地新聞媒體Yicai週日報導，2022年中國的結婚人數降至有記錄以來的最低水平，儘管結婚總數可能受到嚴格的新冠疫情封鎖的影響，但在過去十年中它繼續穩步下降。

民政部網站公佈的數據顯示，去年僅有683萬對新人完成結婚登記，比上年減少約80萬對。

由於流行病限制，去年數以千萬計的人被鎖在家中或院子里數週，它隨之而來是結婚人數下降，而此時當局正在應對出生率下降和人口下降的問題。

2022年，中國人口出現六十年來的首次下降，預計這一下降將標誌著其公民人數長期下降的開始，對其經濟和世界全球產生深遠影響。

中國的出生率從2021年的每千人7.52人下降到去年的每千人6.77人，為有記錄以來的最低水平。

人口學家警告說，隨著勞動力的減少以及負債累累的地方政府在老年人口上的支出增加，中國將未富先老。

為了鼓勵婚姻並提高中國不斷下降的出生率，中國上個月表示將在20多個城市啟動試點項目，打造 “新時代” 婚育文化。

一些省份還延長了年輕新婚夫婦的帶薪結婚假期。

       So, the warning by demographers that China will get old before it gets rich is shocking. China’s workforce is shrinking and indebted local governments need to spend more money to look after their elderly population.