According to China’s National Health Commission, COVID-19 is a factor in the nation’s declining marriage and birth rates, which have accelerated recently as a result of the high expenditures of schooling and child care.
According to the report, many women are still delaying their plans to get married or have kids, even though swift social and economic transformation has brought about “deep shifts”.
Young people moving to metropolitan areas, spending more time in school, and having demanding jobs have all contributed, it was said.
According to demographers, China’s resolute “zero-COVID” policy, which swiftly eradicated any breakouts by enforcing severe regulations on people’s lives, may have had a profoundly negative impact on women’s desire to have children in the long run.
According to the commission, some people’s marriage and childbirth plans have been clearly impacted by the coronavirus.
Demographers predict that the number of births in China will plummet to historic lows this year, dropping from 10.6 million newborns in 2018 to less than 10 million this year, or 11.5% fewer births than in 2020.
One of the lowest fertility rates globally and below the 2.1 rate the OECD considers necessary for a stable population, China’s fertility rate in 2021 was 1.16. China, which implemented a one-child policy from 1980 to 2015, has acknowledged that its population is in danger of declining, posing a challenge to the country’s ability to support and care for its elderly.
Authorities at the national and provincial levels have implemented steps over the past year to address the issue, including tax rebates, extended maternity leaves, improved medical insurance, housing subsidies, and more funding for a third child.
