China's One-Child Policy Hits Diamond Sales
August 19, 24
(IDEX Online) - Demand for diamonds in China is suffering from the one-child policy and dwindling marriage rates.
The slow recovery from strict Covid lockdowns has been widely blamed for slow sales in the world's second biggest diamond market.
But an underlying cause is also the legacy of China's one-child policy, introduced in 1979 (and relaxed to two children in 2016).
It has slowed the growth in China's population (currently 1.4bn) and therefore the number of weddings. China's birth rate is falling and its population is shrinking.
In addition, couples are now opting for gold as a safer investment than diamonds, or for lab growns.
The number of marriages peaked at 13.5m in 2013, according to China's Ministry of Civil Affairs, but has declined ever since and slumped to just 4.8m in 2022.
One Chinese bride told The Times newspaper she wasn't interested in a diamond ring. "I said we should skip the ring and just get gold instead," she said. Her fiance bought her a cheap lab grown "to satisfy the ceremony".