Despite policies, fewer people choosing marriage, children

Despite policies to encourage marriage and childbearing, fewer Chinese are tying the knot, and those who do are doing so at a later age, government data show.

Last year, the marriage rate in China dipped to 7.7 couples per 1,000 population, dropping for the fourth consecutive year, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs' newly released Statistical Bulletin of Social Service Development 2017. The rate peaked at 9.9 per 1,000 in 2013.

Of the 10.6 million marriages registered last year, 36.9 percent of the couples were age 25 to 29, the largest group that year, the report said. The same age group accounted for 35.2 percent in 2013. In 2012, the largest age group was 20 to 24, accounting for 35.5 percent of newlyweds.