China population: college students focused on career before starting family amid demographic crisis, survey shows

Name: Chinese reluctant to have children as China reports first population fall in 61 years
Uploaded: 2023-02-04T04:30:08.000Z
Duration: 2 min 14 s
Description: Chinese reluctant to have children as China reports first population fall in 61 years

Joint survey finds both male and female college students in China are focused on ‘building a career before starting a family’, with marriage no longer a necessity

First time marriages and births dropped last year amid China’s deepening demographic crisis after its population fell for the first time in 60 years in 2022

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Chinese reluctant to have children as China reports first population fall in 61 years

Luna Sunin Beijing

Published: 12:30pm, 4 Feb 2023

Most college students in China no longer think getting married is a necessity in life, while policies to encourage births have barely swayed their reluctance to start a family, according to a new survey.

They now view marriage as a way to promote the quality of both spiritual and material life in a marked change from older generations, said the report jointly released last month by various organisations, including the China Family Planning Association.

The results shed light on China’s deepening demographic crisis, as it grapples with a record-low birth rate and an unprecedented population decline in its modern history.

Independence from men has become a symbol of contemporary women, while emotional foundation and career stability have become preconditions for marriage

Joint report

“Independence from men has become a symbol of contemporary women, while emotional foundation and career stability have become preconditions for marriage,” the report said.

“Marriage is no longer a prerequisite for sexual behaviour, and most college students no longer regard divorce as a shame.”

The number of people getting married for the first time in China dropped to 11.6 million last year, almost 700,000 down on the previous year, according to the China Statistics Yearbook 2022. This was well down on a peak of 23.9 million in 2013.

“Building a career before starting a family” has become a principle for both men and women, while “pain during childbirth” is the primary fear women have against giving birth, according to the report.