China’s first-quarter marriage registrations fell to their lowest level for the same period since 2020, as the country continued to grapple with persistent demographic challenges amid a declining birth rate and a shrinking population.

In the first three months of this year, 1.697 million couples in China tied the knot, down 6.24 per cent from the same period last year, according to data released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Saturday.

The figure marked the lowest first-quarter total since 2020, when 1.557 million couples registered to marry amid the country’s first wave of Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, according to financial data provider Wind. The first quarter is typically a peak season for marriages in China due to the Chinese New Year holiday.

The number of divorces in the first quarter also edged down 1.27 per cent from a year earlier to 622,000.

Marriage registration data is closely watched in China, as it typically serves as a strong indicator of birth trends in the following year, with extramarital births still considered taboo in many parts of the country.

China’s population has been shrinking for the past four years amid a plunge in birth numbers, a trend that threatens to put long-term pressure on the economy as the workforce dwindles and the number of retirees grows, stretching the pension and healthcare systems while undermining economic growth.

Despite government efforts to encourage more couples to marry and start families, China’s birth count plummeted to a record low of 7.92 million last year. Total births are down by more than 10 million from a peak in 2016.