Chinese Marriage Data Confirms Demographic Crisis

Key points

• 0:24

  China only started its industrialization process in 1978.

• 0:24

  Local officials face punishment if data displeases the central government.

• 0:24

  Data collection stops for metrics that officials fear will be criticized.

• 0:24

  Marriage registrations fell by roughly 6% in the last 12 months.

• 0:24

  Year-on-year declines in marriage have continued for over 30 years.

• 2:11

  Marriage rate drops are two to three times faster than population declines.

• 2:11

  There are not enough people under age 50 to repopulate a country of 400 million.

• 2:11

  Officials suspect they may have overcounted the population by at least 100 million.

• 2:11

  There are now not enough people to even theoretically get married.

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