Marriage, divorce both rise in China in Q1

Marriage registrations rose 4 percent in the first quarter of this year in China, while the number of divorces jumped 20 percent, according to the latest data released by China's Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The number of registered marriages increased to 2.147 million couples, while divorce registrations saw a 20 percent rise to 641,000 couples, compared with the same period in 2022.

China's marriage rates have been declining annually since 2014. In 2013, the number of marriages was 13.47 million couples. It dropped below the 10-million mark in 2019 and reached 7.636 million couples in 2021. In 2022, the number retreated 10.5 percent to 6.833 million.

The first quarter of 2022 saw 2.107 million couples tying the knot, followed by 1.625 million in the second quarter, 1.713 million in the third quarter, and 1.388 million in the fourth quarter. Regarding divorce registrations, the numbers for each respective quarter were 514,000, 498,000, 631,000, and 457,000.