Problems caused by late marriage call for effective, targeted policies

Altogether 7.643 million couples registered for marriage in 2021, down 6.1 percent from the year before, according to a statistical bulletin released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Media reports also show that the proportion of people aged 30 to 34 and 35 to 39 who are married has hit new highs in recent years. Those aged 30 or above in China now account for 48.2 percent of the total people registering for marriage, up 1.7 percentage points from the year before.

Behind the rising marriage age are some challenges young people are facing, such as the high cost of housing and raising children, especially in the big cities. Some young people see marriage as the start of a declining quality of life, because of the huge economic pressures. They therefore think it is better to postpone marriage until they are in a better financial position.

There are others who get married late, not out of financial constraints but simply out of choice. Many of them say they have "not met the right person yet" when asked why they are not marrying. With the development of society and the improvement of education level, more people now have a personalized understanding of marriage, contributing to growing average marriage age and even the formation of "late marriage" groups.

Throughout the world, the average marriage age is rising and the marriage rate is declining in most developed countries, giving rise to single's societies.

It is not surprising to see a similar phenomenon in China, given its rapid economic growth. We can't say for sure that China will enter a "single's society", but many young people are accepting the possibility of marrying late or not marrying at all. The old thinking that "people must get married before 30" is now fading.

If we really want to solve the problem of Chinese people marrying late, society must provide certain supports and guarantees to those who want to get married. For example, big cities should build more low-income rental housing to solve the housing problem of young people. In some regions where bridegrooms are forced to pay huge amounts of gifts to the families of brides when getting married, greater efforts should be made to eliminate such old customs. These can help people who want to get married establish a realistic basis for entering into matrimony.