根据国家统计局和民政部的数据，2018年全国结婚率为7.2‰，为2013年以来的最低。1990年-2017年，中国育龄妇女平均初婚年龄推迟4岁多，从21.4岁提高到25.7岁，并有继续走高趋势。友情链接交易
实际上，无需数据说明，大家也能从日益增加的“催婚压力”中明显感受到这一趋势。而且越来越多低的结婚率似乎已经成为世界潮流。
韩国的结婚率和生育率在最近几年几乎年年创下新低。
The number of people tying the knot hit a record low of 257,700 in 2018, marking the seventh-straight year of decline.
2018年结婚人数创下257,700的新低，这已经连续第七年下降了。
▲ Korea fertility rate hits record 0.98 low (via sbs.com.au)
日本的结婚率更是在2017年创下了二战结束以来的最低水平。
Each year, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare tallies the number of marriages that took place in Japan between January and October. In 2017, approximately 607,000 couples tied the knot during that period, which was roughly 13,000 less than the same time frame in 2016. This was the fifth straight annual decline, and the lowest number of people getting married since the end of World War II.
日本卫生劳动和福利部每年会统计1月至10月的结婚人数。2017年，在这段时间里，约有607,000对夫妇结婚，比2016年同期减少了大约1.3万对。这是结婚人数连续第五年下降，也是自第二次世界大战结束以来结婚人数最少的一年。
▲ Fewer Japanese people got married last year than any time since the end of World War II (via japantoday.com)
欧美国家也毫无例外经历着相似的下降趋势。
2018年2月英国发布的一份数据显示该国异性结婚率已是历史最低水平（an all-time low）。
图 via dailymail
美国国家疾病预防与控制中心的统计数据显示，成年未婚男女的比例分别从29.6%与22.5%上升至34.9%与29.3%，女性初婚年龄为27岁，男性为29岁。
Today an unprecedented portion of millennials will remain unmarried through age 40, a recent Urban Institute report predicted.
最近一份城市研究所的报告预测，如今千禧一代到40岁还未婚的情况之多将会是前所未有的。
......
According to a report released last month by the Pew Research Center, 25 percent of millennials are likely to never be married.
根据皮尤研究中心上月发布的一份报告，25%的千禧一代可能永远不会结婚。
▲ NowUKnow: Why Millennials Refuse to Get Married (via Bentley University)
那么到底是什么原因让千禧一代如此抗拒婚姻呢？有网友回答说：
的确，生活成本的不断攀升成为不少人在面对婚姻或者择偶时犹豫不决的主要因素。
Young adults today have low marriage rates, and economic security may play an important role in their likelihood to marry.
当今社会年轻人的结婚率很低，很可能是他们会越来越多考虑到经济条件。
Specifically, full-time employment, median annual wages for all types of workers, and owning a home were associated with higher marriage rates.
具体地说，全职工作、中位数年薪和拥有住房都与较高的结婚率有关。
At the same time, the poverty status of women, high housing costs, and living in the home of a parent were associated with lower marriage rates across counties.
同时，妇女的贫困、住房费用高昂、与父母同住，这些都与各州的低结婚率有关。
......
The findings suggest that the economic characteristics of both men and women matter to marriage among young adults today.
研究结果表明，双方的经济状况对当今年轻人的婚姻关系起着非常重要的作用。
▲ For Young Adults, Economic Security Matters for Marriage (via census.gov)
CBSnews在今年2月的一篇报道中也指出，虽然不少人嘴上说着要因为爱情结婚，但在现实中却无法做到。
Although people say they marry for love, the economic pressures on the millennial generation appear to weigh on their ability -- or willingness -- to get hitched, the Census found last year.
尽管许多人说他们结婚是为了爱情，但去年的人口普查显示，千禧一代的经济压力似乎成为他们权衡自己结婚的能力或者说意愿的一个重要指标。
▲ How marriage became a status symbol for millennials (via cbsnews)
但回到国内的情况来看，这似乎又无法解释结婚率最低的反而是经济较发达的地区这一事实。数据显示，2018年上海的结婚率只有4.4‰，全国垫底。浙江的结婚率紧随其后，仅为5.9‰。广东、北京、天津等地结婚率也偏低。
于是有网友发起了一个投票，问大家婚姻到底是不是个必需品。结果是压倒性的选择，3000多人认为婚姻不是必需品，没有合适的人，不结婚也可以。而认为一定要结婚的只有100多人。
截图 via 微博
很多人分享了自己的见解：
甚至还有刚走进围城的人现身说法：
一辈子不结婚到底可不可怕呢？《华盛顿邮报》曾请过一个62岁的老奶奶讲述她一辈子的单身生活。
People like to say that being single is better than being in a bad relationship. But for me, it is also better than being in a good one. Single life is my most meaningful life.
人们总说单身好过深陷一段糟糕的关系中。但对我来说，单身也比一段好的关系要更好。单身生活是我人生中最有意义的一部分。
......
Single life just feels right to me. I don’t fear loneliness; instead I savor the solitude of my life. Every day, when I wake up in a place of my own with no one else there, I can hardly believe my great fortune. I can pursue the work I care about passionately. I can see friends or spend days at a time on my own, walking the spectacular bluffs near my home, browsing the farmers markets and preparing fresh and flavorful meals from their offerings.
单身生活对我来说就是刚刚好。我不怕孤独，而是享受我生命中的孤独。每天，当我从只属于我的空间醒来时，都不敢相信我拥有如此巨大的财富。我可以热情洋溢地追求我喜欢的工作。我可以见见朋友，也可以一连几天独自待着，去家附近壮观的悬崖上散步，逛逛农贸市场，挑选新鲜的蔬菜烹饪美味佳肴。
▲ I’m better off single. You might be, too. (viaWashington Post)
她的这种生活状态并不是所有人都能认可或接受的，她也承认自己受到不少阻力：
People like me who have chosen single life face odd pockets of resistance. Some people refuse to believe we exist. Some insist that we are not “really” happy – we just tell ourselves that we are.
像我这样选择过单身生活的人面临着奇怪的阻力。有些人不相信我们这样的人真的存在。也有些人坚持说我们并不是“真正的”快乐——我们只是不停地告诉自己我们是快乐的。
Happy single people are a threat to a cherished worldview promising that, if you get married and stay that way, all of your dreams will come true. You will be happier and healthier, and probably morally superior, too. From that perspective, living single is sad. But it isn’t.
幸福的单身人士是对传统世界观的质疑。世俗认为，结婚的话就能实现所有的梦想，会更快乐、更健康，也可能在道德层面上更高人一等。从这个角度来看，单身确实有点可悲的。但事实上并非如此。
And neither is getting married. What is truly sad is living the life you think you should live, rather than the one that suits you best.
而且结婚也并不可悲。真正可悲的是你过着人们认为你应该过的生活，而不是最适合你的生活。
▲ I’m better off single. You might be, too. (via Washington Post)
你觉得婚姻是必需品吗？
文：A君
资料：Washington Post, cbsnews, census.gov, japantoday, sbs.com.au, Bentley University
图：微博、网络
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