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The age of first marriage for women in Shanghai is 29 years old! What is the legal requirement for the age of first marriage？
Time:2025-08-28 Views:1543
Recently, the Shanghai Women's Federation released a research report on the development of women in Shanghai over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, which showed that the age of first marriage and childbirth for women has significantly increased. After the implementation of the two child policy, employers have intensified implicit discrimination in employment choices.
In recent years, the life expectancy of women and men in Shanghai has been continuously increasing. In the 40 years since the reform and opening up, the life expectancy of women in Shanghai has increased from 74.8 years in 1978 to 85.9 years in 2017, an increase of 11.1 years, which is more than 6 years higher than the national average. This indicator ranks first among all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities (except for Hong Kong and Macao).
Compared with the national average, the age of first marriage for men and women in Shanghai has increased at a faster rate, and the increase in the age of first marriage for women is higher than that for men. As of 2015, the average age of first marriage for men and women in Shanghai was 30.3 years and 28.4 years, respectively, an increase of 5.0 years and 5.4 years from 2005. In addition, in 2015, the age of first childbirth for women in Shanghai was 29 years old, which is higher than many developed Western countries (26.3 years old in the United States, 28.6 years old in the United Kingdom, and 28.3 years old in France), but still slightly lower than Japan (30.6 years old), South Korea (31 years old), Italy (30.7 years old), and other countries.
What is the legal requirement for the age of first marriage?
The legal age for marriage in Chinese Mainland shall not be earlier than 22 for men and 20 for women.
The legal age for marriage in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan is not earlier than 18 for men and 16 for women.
The legal age for marriage stipulated in China's Marriage Law of 1950 is 20 years for males and 18 years for females. Therefore, it is stipulated that "males shall not be earlier than 22 years old, and females shall not be earlier than 20 years old". In this revision of the Marriage Law, some comrades suggest unifying the age of marriage for both men and women into one standard, either 22 years old or 20 years old.
The provisions of China's Marriage Law regarding the age of marriage are not mandatory or optimal, but rather the minimum age for marriage, which sets the age limit between illegal and legal marriages. Only those who have reached the legal age of marriage can get married, otherwise it is illegal. The legal age of marriage does not prevent men and women from voluntarily postponing their marriage according to their own circumstances. In order to implement China's family planning policy, the Marriage Law also encourages late marriage and childbirth. It is inappropriate for some units to use the marriage age that enjoys preferential policies instead of the legal marriage age. If the marriage age is not reached, it is not approved for both men and women to get married. The law advocates for late marriage, rather than forcing it, and does not mean that getting married later is better. In order to ensure strict law enforcement on the issue of marriage age, the "Regulations on the Administration of Marriage Registration" stipulate that "if the parties applying for marriage are unable to obtain the required certificates due to interference from their units or others, and the marriage registration authority confirms that they indeed comply with the provisions of the Marriage Law and these Measures, they should also be registered and issued a" Marriage Certificate ".
The marriage age stipulated in the Marriage Law has universal applicability, but in certain special circumstances, the law also allows exceptions to be made to the marriage age. For example, considering the multi-ethnic characteristics of our country, Article 50 of the Marriage Law stipulates that "the people's congresses of ethnic autonomous areas have the right to formulate flexible provisions based on the specific situation of local ethnic marriage and family." Some legislative bodies of ethnic autonomous areas in our country have made flexible provisions on the legal age of marriage in the Marriage Law. For example, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Xizang and other autonomous regions, as well as some autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties, all take the age of 20 for men and 18 for women as the minimum age for marriage in this region. But these flexible regulations only apply to ethnic minorities and do not apply to the Han people living in the region.
The relationship between late marriage, late childbirth, and the legal age for marriage
Firstly, delaying marriage and childbirth is not contradictory to the prescribed age for marriage. Because the marriage age stipulated in China's Marriage Law is based on the actual situation in our country. China has a vast territory with a population of over 1.2 billion, more than 900 million farmers, and over 50 ethnic groups. The local customs and traditions vary from place to place. Therefore, the state should not raise the marriage age too high.
Secondly, the legal age of marriage is the minimum age line for marriage. Just requiring young people not to get married earlier than this age does not mean that it equals the most suitable and ideal age for marriage. In other words, it does not mean that every young person must get married at this age. Therefore, the Marriage Law explicitly states that "late marriage and late childbirth should be encouraged".
Thirdly, the legal age of marriage is set out from the reality of our country, and late marriage and late childbirth are considered from the population situation and reproductive physiological function of our country, which are not contradictory. The key lies in correctly understanding, comprehending, and handling the relationship between the two. All young men and women who aspire to make more contributions to China's modernization construction should actively respond to the call of the Party and the state, and strive to become models for changing customs and delaying marriage and childbirth.
The survey also shows that it has become a trend for women in Shanghai to marry and have children late, and the proportion of unmarried young women continues to rise. These are common phenomena that have emerged with the continuous development and progress of China's social economy, especially in developed cities like Shanghai. In short, regardless of the age of marriage, as long as it does not violate the legal minimum age requirement of 22 for men and 20 for women, it is acceptable. After all, meeting the right person at the right time is a dream for many people. If you have any questions, please feel free to consult our professional lawyers at any law firm. Sichuan Faneng Law Firm is dedicated to serving you.