Last year, 12 million Chinese couples registered for marriage, making it the second consecutive year the number has declined. And because families often preferred male babies, China has a surplus of men, further complicating marriage prospects. China’s one-child policy — now abandoned — combined with other trends, has made China, on average, increasingly older and increasingly male. TOTAL MARRIAGE REGISTRATIONS 15 million 12 9 6 3 0 ’15 ’90 ’95 ’00 ’05 ’10 . The jewelry industry expects sales growth to slow in China as marriage declines.

Source: New York Times September 12, 2016 00:22 UTC