TEHRAN – Some 568,930 marriages were registered over the past [Iranian calendar] year (March 2021-March 2022), which shows a growth of 2.2 percent compared to a year before.“After years of negative marriage rates, it grows positive for the second year in a row.

Some 568,930 marriages were registered last year, which shows a growth of 2.2 percent compared to a year before.

Decreasing marriage ceremonies during the coronavirus and increasing the number of marriage loans by 8 to 10 times (over 4 years) has had a positive effect on this growth,” Vahid Yaminpour, deputy minister of sports and youth, twitted on Monday.The marriage rate in Iran increased by 5 percent over the [Iranian calendar] year ended in March 2021, despite the coronavirus pandemic. In April and May, 83,857 applicants received marriage loans, which is a 174 percent increase over the same period last year, according to Yaminpour.The rate of marriage in the country has increased by 23.6 percent, over the first three months of the current [Iranian calendar] year (March 21-June 21, 2022) compared to the same period last year, according to the data published by the Statistical Center of Iran.The marriage rate in Iran has increased by 5 percent over the [Iranian calendar] year ended in March 2021, despite the coronavirus pandemic, Masoumeh Ebtekar, former vice president for Women and Family Affairs, said in May 2021.Demographic issueToday, the country's fertility rate has reached about 1.6 children per woman, however, it was 6.5 children per woman, in 1986.

The lowest fertility rate in the whole region of West Asia, North Africa, and the MENA region is recorded for Iran.While 1,594,000 births were registered in the [Iranian calendar] year 1394 (March 2015-March 2016), the downward trend continued annually to the point that the number of births reached about one million in the [Iranian calendar] year 1399 (March 2020-March 2021).

In other words, we lost more than 550,000 births in five years.The decline in the marriage rate, followed by a dramatic decrease in childbearing, has sounded the alarm of the aging population, an issue that has forced government officials to enact legislation to support the population growth and the youth.This law was proposed in a situation when despite the announcement made by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in [the Iranian calendar year] 1393 (March 2014-March 2015) regarding 14 policies to support childbearing and the family; the lack of operational and systematic planning to solve this important and strategic issue was evident.FB/MG