It does not take an economist to explain the falling number of babies being born in China. The simple answer is the cost of getting married and setting up a family home.
According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the number of marriages in China has suffered four consecutive years of decline to 10.63 million in 2017. The number fell 5% annually in the last four years – the number of registered marriages was 13.47 million in 2013.
And there has been no sign of a rebound in the number of marriages, which is tipped to drop further in coming years. So what are the reasons for this drastic downturn in the most populated country in the world?
Firstly, it has to do with the low fertility rate. According to mainland reports, the number of people of marriageable age has decreased. That is because the number of babies in China has been in decline since 1996 and they are the ones of marriageable age now.
Another key reason is late marriages. With more Chinese gaining a higher education, they tend to get married after graduating.
Read: Having children “not just about family but about nation”
For instance, the largest portion of people registered for marriage in 2012 were aged from 20 to 24. By 2017, the largest number of those registering to be married were aged between 25 and 29.
But most importantly, the number of registered marriages seems to have a reverse relationship with residential property index prices, which have been increasing. Many people mocked this phenomenon on social media.
Some said that because of high property prices, they cannot afford to get married or have babies. One said: “If I can barely survive, I would rather not bring babies into this suffering world.”
Another joked that the marriage rate would hit a record low if home prices rose another 10% as young couples could not afford new homes. The National Statistic Bureau revealed that new born babies in 2017 totaled 17.23 million, down from 17.86 million a year earlier.
The launch of the two-child policy in early 2016 did little to reverse the declining trend. The bureau said the number of second children was up 22% to 8.83 million in 2017 from 7.21 million in 2016, but the number of first children for the same period was down 25% to 7.24 million.
The Peoples’ Daily, a state-owned mouthpiece, suggested that giving birth to children was not only a family matter, but also a matter of national importance. It ran the headline: “Let people have the courage and willingness to have a second child.”
El futuro y los pensamientos.
( altra versione )
Como la fuerza
del viento que
regresa ligero
donando a la vida
el tenue color
de las hojas
mojadas, como
el llanto presente
del cansado pájaro
que se posa en
el barro y así
muere en silencio…
Francesco Sinibaldi
El futuro y los pensamientos.
Como la fuerza
del viento
que regresa
donde la vida
recuerda el color
de las hojas
mojadas, como
el futuro en
un dulce pasar…
Francesco Sinibaldi
La voce dei chiarori.
( ultima versione )
Qual magico canto
nel volto sincero
di una mite fanciulla,
qual dolce letizia
nel pianto affannato
di una foglia ingiallita
che vive d’inganni
raggiungendo il terreno:
quel timido augello
cinguetta nel sole
mirando il sorriso
dei prati fioriti,
s’adagia spossato
vicino al baglior
del festoso ruscello
e poi muore in silenzio,
sospirando nel chiaro…
Francesco Sinibaldi
La voce dei chiarori.
( altra versione )
Qual magico canto
nel volto sincero
di una mite fanciulla,
qual dolce letizia
nel pianto affannato
di una foglia spossata
che vive d’inganni
raggiungendo il terreno:
quel timido augello
cinguetta nel sole
mirando il sorriso
dei prati fioriti,
s’adagia sereno
vicino al baglior
del festoso ruscello
e poi geme in silenzio,
dimorando nel chiaro…
Francesco Sinibaldi
http://www.carduelisnorte.com/livrovisitas.aspx
Qual magico canto
nel volto sincero
di una mite fanciulla,
qual dolce letizia
nel pianto affannato
di una foglia spossata
che vive d’inganni
raggiungendo il terreno:
quel timido augello
cinguetta nel sole
mirando il sorriso
dei prati fioriti,
s’adagia sereno
vicino al baglior
del festoso ruscello
e poi geme in silenzio,
dimorando nel chiaro…
Francesco Sinibaldi
La voce dei chiarori.
Cinguetta nel sole
mirando il sorriso
dei prati fioriti,
s’adagia sereno
vicino al chiaror
del festoso ruscello…
Francesco Sinibaldi
Suddenly her light…
Francesco Sinibaldi
Quelquefois dans mon coeur….
Cette lumière
m’appelle, dans
le coeur de
la nuit, comme
un son plein
de charme qui
souffle dans
le rêve la chanson
de la vie: c’est
l’étoile des désirs,
la vision naturelle
qui dessine dans
le vide l’émotion
d’un instant…
Francesco Sinibaldi
In the part of a melody…
( third version )
Near the ledge
of an ancient
farmhouse the
juvenile blackbird
is singing with
joy and this tender
happiness, like
a delicate breath,
touches the heaven
to cover the light
of a fugitive feeling:
you live in the
silence, your hesitant
motion is coming
alone to find
in the freedom
your usual strength…
Francesco Sinibaldi
Don’t forget the small weapons
In the part of a melody…
( other version )
Near the ledge
of an ancient
farmhouse the
juvenile blackbird
is singing with
joy and this tender
happiness, like
a delicate breath,
touches the heaven
to cover the light
of a fugitive feeling…
Francesco Sinibaldi