The average age of first marriage is 28.67 years old. Why do Chinese people get married later and later?

　　Zhongxin Finance, June 24th:

　　Reporter Li Jinlei

　　The average age of first marriage in China is getting late.

The average age of first marriage in 2020 is 28.67 years old

　　According to the "China Census Yearbook-2020", in 2020, the average age of first marriage in China has risen to 28.67 years old. Among them, the average age of first marriage for men is 29.38 years old and that for women is 27.95 years old.

　　The data show that in 2010, the average age of first marriage in China was 24.89 years old, the average age of first marriage for men was 25.75 years old, and the average age for women at first marriage was 24 years old.

　　In other words, in 10 years, the average age of first marriage has been pushed back by nearly 4 years.

Among them, the average age of first marriage for men was pushed back by 3.63 years, and the average age of first marriage for women was pushed back by 3.95 years.

　　Judging from the annual number of first marriages, the overall trend has been declining in recent years.

According to the "China Statistical Yearbook 2021" data, the number of first-time marriages in 2010 was as high as 22.009 million, and in 2020, it dropped to 12.886 million.

The average age of first marriage has become a general trend

　　From a local perspective, the average age of first marriage has become a general trend.

　　Taking Hangzhou as an example, in 2021, the average age of first marriage for men will be 28.5 years old and that of women will be 27.1 years old. Compared with the previous year, men will be 0.2 years later and women will be 0.3 years later.

The average age of marriage registration for males was 31.7 years and that for females was 30 years old, 0.3 years and 0.4 years later than the same period of the previous year.

　　At present, the average age of first marriage in some places has even exceeded the 30-year-old mark.

　　According to data released by the Civil Affairs Department of Anhui Province, the average age of marriage registration in Anhui Province in 2021 is 33.31 years old, and the average age of first marriage is 31.89 years old for males and 30.73 years old for females.

　　The Jiangsu Provincial Bureau of Statistics revealed in the article "The Natural Growth Rate of Jiangsu's Permanent Population Turns Negative for the First Time in 2021" that with the development of the times, the average age of women at first marriage in Jiangsu has steadily increased.

The average age of women at first marriage was 23.22 years old in 2000, 23.76 years old in 2010, and 29.66 years old in 2020.

2010 and 2000 are basically the same, and the age of women's first marriage in 2020 is nearly 6 years later than in 2010, close to 30 years old.

　　Accompanying the delay in the age of first marriage is a decline in the number of registered marriages.

According to data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, only 8.131 million marriages were registered nationwide in 2020, a year-on-year decrease of 12.2%, the seventh consecutive year of decline.

Data map: A couple of newlyweds take photos with their marriage certificate and date numbers.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Gang

Why is the average age at first marriage delayed?

　　From the historical trend, in the early 1980s, the average age at first marriage showed a downward trend. In 1980, it was 23.59 years old. In 1986, it decreased to 22.83 years old. After that, it began to rise. 25 years old in 2011, 26 years old in 2014, 27 years old in 2017, and 28 years old in 2020.

　　Why is this generation marrying later?

Different people have different reasons.

　　Mr. Li, a citizen of Hefei, said that many people in their 30s are not married. The main reason is that the pressure on housing prices is too great, so they try to postpone it as much as possible.

Ms. Yao, a citizen of Hefei, said that between the ages of 20 and 30, you need to work hard first, and you must first be able to achieve financial independence before you consider marriage.

　　Feng Wenmeng, director of the Research Office of the Institute of Public Administration and Human Resources of the Development Research Center of the State Council, analyzed the "China New Observation" column of Chinanews.com. The increase in education level, the increase in marriage costs, the increase in employment and workplace competition, and changes in marriage concepts, etc. It is an important reason for delaying the age of first marriage.

　　First, the level of education has improved. Now more and more people choose to pursue postgraduate studies and postgraduate examinations after graduating from university, especially for female groups. The years of education are constantly extending, which naturally delays the age of marriage.  

　　Second, the social competition is fierce, the pressure of employment is high, the pace of work and life is accelerated, many young people are busy with work, and many people often work overtime, they have no time to fall in love, and there are few opportunities to contact the opposite sex.

　　The third is the rising cost of marriage, rising house prices, and higher betrothal gifts. Regardless of urban or rural areas, factors such as housing must be considered in marriage, especially in first-tier cities, which leads to a longer preparation period for marriage.

The sky-high dowry in some areas directly scare some people away, or they can't get married.

　　Fourth, the concept of marriage has changed. Today's young people have increased self-awareness, and they pay more and more attention to the independent choice and quality of marriage, and the convenience of life is also improving. Many people feel that living alone is quite comfortable, and they are eager and dependent on family. It is also getting smaller and smaller, and it is not recognized that marriage is the only destination of love.

　　Feng Wenmeng believes that delaying the age of marriage, on the one hand, may miss the best reproductive age for women, leading to an increase in reproductive risk, and on the other hand, it will also have an adverse impact on the fertility level of the entire society.

However, it should be noted that with the development of economy and society, the improvement of education level, and the enrichment of social services in many countries, the number of people who marry later and who do not marry increases. This is also a common problem, and we must fully understand this.

In practice, what can be done is to try to take some measures to offset some of these negative factors that are not conducive to marriage and childbirth.

　　Feng Wenmeng suggested that the cost of marriage should be reduced, and unreasonable marriage customs such as sky-high betrothal gifts should be rectified, so that young people can talk about marriage with relative ease as much as possible without worrying about marriage.

It is necessary to optimize and upgrade the marriage and childbirth environment, improve the supply and quality of services in the marriage market, expand the circle of friends of young people, and promote more successful marriage matches.

At the same time, advocate the importance of marriage, family and childbirth, and reduce the negative impression of some people on marriage, family and childbirth.

　　Regarding the proposal to lower the legal age of marriage in recent years, Feng Wenmeng said that the age for first marriage is now much higher than the legal age for marriage.

And considering the stability of marriage, getting married too early at an immature age may also lead to more divorces and single-parent families, which are detrimental to individual families and children.

Therefore, lowering the legal age of marriage has little practical significance.

(Finish)