The number of new marriages recorded in China fell to a record low last year, despite sweeping government efforts to encourage young people to tie the knot and have babies to halt demographic decline in the world’s second-largest economy.

Marriages in China plummeted by a fifth last year, the biggest drop on record, despite manifold efforts by authorities to encourage young couples to wed and have children to boost the country's declining population.

After seven years of decline, China's birth rate ticked slightly upward last year, a shift analysts have attributed to the end of strict COVID lockdowns the year before and 2024 being a Year of the Dragon—an auspicious sign in the lunar zodiac.

For Chinese authorities, boosting interest in marriage and baby-making is a pressing concern. China has the second-biggest population in the world at

The number of marriages registered in China during 2024 fell to 6.1 million couples, the lowest figure since records began in 1980, the ministry of civil affairs said. The figure represents a new decline after the rebound experienced in 2023 following consecutive years of decline,

Marriages in China dropped by a fifth last year, the biggest drop on record, despite manifold efforts by authorities to encourage young couples to wed and have children to boost the country's declining population.

Numbers of marriages in China dropped dramatically in 2024. The continuing decline in marriages likely signals further declines in birth rates, intensifying China's demographic headwinds.

China last year saw a one-fifth decline in marriages, the latest sign of persistent demographic challenges as Beijing works to encourage births despite an uncertain economic outlook for young families.