Alleviating consequences

All in all, the decisions to get married or not, and when to get married, are matters of personal preference. But these questions do have an impact on social development.

By the end of 2015, according to China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, the number of single young people has reached 20 million. With so many marriageable people remaining single, the next baby boom could be postponed indefinitely. This is not good news for China whose aging population is growing fast.

The 2014 Population and Social Development Report released by the National Development and Reform Commission shows that China has entered the stage of low-level fertility. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences pointed out that the birth rate in China kept dropping in 2015 to only 1.4, which is far lower than the population replacement level of 2.1. The current birth rate is dangerously near the internationally-recognized low fertility trap of 1.3.

As late marriage and late childbirth may aggravate the aging population trend, the Chinese Government is taking steps to alleviate the threat. On December 27, 2015, Chinese lawmakers adopted an amended family planning law, a historic move which opened the door for couples to have two children. This is expected to relieve the aging pressure and rebalance the country’s population structure.

“I also wish to have a happy marriage and a lovely baby. But I need to wait … wait until the right person comes along,” said Guo. “For now, I enjoy my life as a single. It’s not bad.” Comments to xyy@chinafrica.cn