China is easing restrictions on marriage registration as part of a broad campaign to address its shrinking population.
New rules make it easier for couples to marry by reducing bureaucratic hurdles and expanding where registrations can take place, according to the English-language state-owned newspaper China Daily.
Why It Matters
The new rules reflect Beijing’s urgency in combating a demographic crisis. In 2024, China’s population fell for a third consecutive year, and fewer than 6.1 million couples registered their marriages, down from 7.68 million in 2023, according to China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs.
It comes after the national political adviser Chen Songxi recommended lowering the legal age for marriage to 18 to boost fertility chances in February—the legal age for marriage in China is 22 for men and 20 for women.
What To Know
The new marriage rules came into effect on Saturday, eliminating the requirement for household registration books, and allow couples to register in locations other than their permanent residence.
This change is particularly relevant in a society where over 490 million people live away from their registered hometowns, as of 2020, according to the national census.
The process now takes around 10 minutes, China Daily reports, and includes checking ID cards and photos of the newlyweds, guiding them through filling out forms and verifying information.
In the first quarter of this year, China recorded 1.81 million marriage registrations, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. This is eight percent less than the same period last year.
Bian Zhihui, a registrar at a new office in Beijing, told China Daily: “Previously, the newlyweds needed to go to the places of their household registration and take the hukou booklets for marriage registration. From now on, they just need to show their ID cards to tie the knot at marriage registration offices anywhere in the country.”
Xiujian Peng, senior research fellow at Victoria University’s Centre of Policy Studies in Melbourne, previously told Newsweek: “Without comprehensive reforms, these efforts may have only a marginal effect on reversing declining fertility trends.”
“International experience suggests that more comprehensive policies tend to be more effective. For example, France successfully increased its fertility rate from 1.64 in 1993 to 1.8–1.9 between the 1990s and 2010s, while Denmark saw a rise from 1.38 in 1983 to 1.7–1.8 over the same period.”
What Happens Next
The National People’s Congress is expected to review further proposals, including lowering the legal marriage age and removing all limits on childbirth.
If enacted, these changes could mark a significant pivot from China’s decades-long restrictive population policies, positioning the country to address its most pressing demographic challenges in the decades ahead. Newsweek
