Hanoi (VNA) – There are a growing number of people inIndonesia putting off marriage, according to🎃 the country’s statistics agency.

Only 1.58 million couples in Indonesia got married last year,128,00 fewer than in 2022. That number has been steadily falling since 2018 when 2.01million marriages were recorded in the world’s fourth-most populous nation. While declining marriage figures might be common in countrieswith shrinking populations, Indonesia’s population is growing each year, whichunderscores concerns by experts about changing attitudes towards marriage. Southeast Asia’s most populous nation recorded a population of277.5 million in 2023, compared with 267 million in 2018. Sociologist Dede Oetomo, a professor of gender studies atAirlangga University in Surabaya, East Java, said that Indonesia’s youngpopulation has been on the increase, but the number of marriages nationwide hasbeen declining. Declining marriage rates would jeopardise Indonesia’s statedtarget of becoming a developed country by the time it celebrates its centennialof independence in 2045. Indonesia’s family planning agency (BKKBN)'s head Hasto Wardoyosaid that Indonesia wants to capitalise on its current demographic bonus – aperiod in which people of working age outnumber those who are economicallydependent, which will peak between 2020 and 2035 – to avoid being stuck in themiddle-income trap. Countries fall into the middle-income trap if they are not ableto move from a low-cost to a high-value economy. To transition successfully,there must be high enough population growth to help fuel economic growth.Hence, there is concern over declining marriages and subsequent birth rates./.