A province in eastern China is encouraging young people to get married by giving couples a "reward" of 1,000 yuan ($137) if the bride is 25 years old or under. This is the latest initiative to encourage young people to get married as concern over the low birth rate rises.
The incentive was announced in a notice posted last week on c County's official WeChat account. It stated that it was intended to encourage "age-appropriate marriage and childbearing" for first marriages. Several types of daycare, fertility, and educational subsidies were also introduced for families with kids.
Authorities are rapidly attempting a variety of initiatives to raise the birth rate, including financial incentives and enhanced childcare facilities, since they are worried about China's first population decline in 60 years and its rapidly aging population.
The legal marriage age in China is 20 for women and 22 for men, but number of people getting married has been rapidly dropping. As a result of official policies that make it more difficult for single women to have children, birth rates have decreased.
In 2022, there were 6.8 million marriages, the lowest total since 1986, according to government figures issued in June. In comparison to 2021, there were 800,000 fewer marriages last year.
As reported by state media, China's fertility rate, which was already among the lowest in the world, is estimated to have reached a record low of 1.09 in 2022.
© Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved Powered by Vygr Media.
