关键词: 初婚, 离婚, 平均初婚年龄, 队列分析

Abstract: Chinese family has experienced dramatic changes in recent decades, especially in terms of union formation and dissolution. Using data from Census, miniCensus, and China Family Panel Studies, we provide estimates of marriage and divorce in China. We further compare marriage and divorce trends of China with those in the United States, Japan, South Korea, Russia, British, France, German, Italy, and Spain. Our results show a delayed first marriage age and increased singlehood rate in China, yet marriage is still earlier and more universal in China than in other developed countries. We expect increases in both marriage age and singlehood rate as Chinas economy further develops. Despite a high crude divorce rate in recent China, our results based on age and cohort analysis reveal that divorce is much less prevalent in China than in other countries. With the persistent childcentered family culture, we argue that marriage in China will remain relatively stable in the short term.

Keywords: Marriage, Divorce, Mean Age at First Marriage, Cohort Analysis