China’s Birth Rate Hits Record Low – Online Dating to the Rescue?

China saw 6.39 births per 1,000 people in 2023, a record low for the country. As China’s population has now decreased for the second year running, its politicians are considering how online dating services can come to the rescue.

A recent report from Reuters highlights that China’s population decreased by 0.15% year-over-year, a trend that has continued from 2022. In addition to this, the country’s birth rate fell by 5.7%.

Reuters points out that the one-child policy plays a role in the country’s decades-long struggle with population issues. However, another factor is that “large populations moved from China’s rural farms into cities, where having children is more expensive”.

Local government officials have put forward tax deductions, longer maternity leave, and housing subsidies, to solve this worrying trend and create new families. Wu Wenqing, a deputy at Shanghai People’s Congress, has another solution: an online dating platform for the city of Shanghai.

Referencing a government-led data platform that assists elderly care, Wu believes something similar can be replicated for encouraging marriages, he told the publication SHINE.

Rather than relying on private dating apps, which face issues of false information and expensive fees, he claims a government-led platform may be the answer. It could use publicly-held information to ensure that users who join the platform are unmarried, for example.

Beyond matching singles together, this dating app could harness the advice of professional counsellors, and work with organisations to organise online and offline dating activities, Wu shared.

“Lack of opportunities to interact with the opposite sex and cognitive biases toward marriage and relationships are two of the main reasons why young people are unwilling to get married”, he added.

The marriage of government & matchmaking is not a new phenomenon, especially among societies that face similar population issues. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is currently developing its own dating app, while the government in Taiwan has been organising singles events. It remains to be seen whether these public initiatives can spark romantic connections and solve society-wide issues.

Read the Reuters report on China’s population challenges here.