China offers 30 days 'paid marriage leave' to boost birth rate

Once troubled by the rapid growth of population, now the decreasing population has become a problem for China. Governments of different provinces of China are now giving new incentives to married people to increase the birth rate.

In this series, some provinces of China are providing 30 days of paid leave to the newlyweds in the hope of encouraging youth to marry and boost the birth rate. 

The People's Daily Health, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party, gave this information on Tuesday. In China, there is a minimum of three days of paid leave after marriage, but the provinces have the right to give more leave than this.

According to the People's Daily Health, the northwestern province of Gansu and the coal-producing Shanxi province now offer 30 days of paid leave after marriage, and Shanghai offers 10 days, although Sichuan still only offers three days. 

Decision taken to increase the birth rate

Yang Heyang, dean of the Social Development Research Institute of Southwest University of Finance and Economics, says that increasing the marriage leave is one of the effective ways to increase the fertility rate.

The marriage holiday, however, has been extended mainly in provinces and cities with relatively slow economic development, he said. This has been done because there was an urgent need to increase the labor force and encourage consumption in these places. 

The lowest birth rate in China last year so far

China's population declined last year for the first time in six decades, according to official figures. Last year, China had the lowest birth rate of 6.77 births per 1000 people.

This decline in the birth rate in China comes from the "one child" policy implemented between 1980 and 2015. Now people are avoiding having young children due to economic reasons, new lifestyle and also due to break up of joint family.