BEIJING - China, which has been releasing a slew of measures to bolster its sagging population levels, recorded a drop in marriage registrations for the first nine months of 2024, according to official data from Ministry of Civil Affairs.

       For the first three quarters of the year, 4.747 million couples were registered nationwide, the data showed. That is a year-on-year decrease of 943,000, a Reuters calculation of the data showed.

       The government released the latest data on Nov 1.

       In 2023, 5.69 million marriage registrations were recorded for the first nine months, an increase from 2022.

       Growing economic uncertainty and rising living costs across the country have forced many young couples to delay marriage, a troubling sign for lawmakers who have been pushing policies to boost a shrinking population.

       China recently revised a draft law that makes it simpler for couples to register marriages, while filing for divorce will become tougher.

       For the first three quarters of 2024, 1.967 million divorces were registered, a slight drop of 6,000 year over year, according to the data.

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       Earlier in 2024, China reported its second annual drop in nationwide births, pushing the government to enact projects and initiatives in major cities to spur young Chinese to create a "new-era" marriage and childbearing culture to foster a friendly child bearing environment.

       Getting married and having children has been a heated subject among young Chinese and spawned major discussions and trending threads on social media.

       Many young Chinese are opting to stay single or delay getting married due to poor job prospects and worries about the future as growth in the world's second-largest economy slows.

       Chinese President Xi Jinping weighed in too, saying women have a critical role and must establish a "new trend of family". REUTERS