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Staying single not good for demographics
China Daily ^ | September 5, 2017 | Mu Guangzong

Posted on 09/05/2017 2:09:53 PM PDT by EdnaMode

The challenges and potential business opportunities China's nearly 200 million "single population" has given rise to have been making headlines for some time now. Single population refers to the group of people who are not married despite reaching the legal marriageable age, and those that are divorced or widowed.

According to China's population and employment statistical yearbook 2015, the total single population aged above 20-people who are unable to get married as well as those that choose to remain single-was about 140 million in 2014. According to a survey in 2015 more than 58 million people in China live alone while the number of young people (between 20 and 39) living alone is 20 million.

The rising single population has something to do with the unbalanced gender ratio in China, especially among people of marriageable age. China's population and employment statistical yearbook 2014 said that of the total single population, males accounted for 69.1 percent in the 35-to-39 age group, and the male-female gender ratio in the 20-to-24 age group was 130:100. Besides, the shortage of marriageable age women has made it difficult for men to find a spouse, especially in poverty-stricken rural areas.

The number of marriageable age men in China will be 24 million more than marriageable age women in 2020. And given the huge social pressure single men face in rural areas, they could become the catalyst to many problems, such as sex crimes and trafficking of women, which in turn could undermine social stability and harmony.

The rising single population also has something to do with the current social values. Thanks to the fast-paced economic development and changing cultural norms, it is possible for single men or women to lead a relatively comfortable life, not least because they don't consider marriage and family as necessary. In other words, on the one hand, the rising number of single men in China's rural areas is a social problem, on the other, staying single has already become a global trend.

According to Going Solo by Eric Klinenberg, a professor of sociology at New York University, in 1950 only 22 percent of the total US population was single while the percentage today is more than 50. At present, 31 million people of marriageable age, or one-seventh of the total adult population of the United States, live alone.

Being single is popular among people in Western countries. In Stockholm, Sweden, for example, the ratio of people living alone is as high as 60 percent. In Japan, about 40 percent of the single people don't like the company of others. And in France, 55.8 percent of the children were born out of wedlock in 2012. Even in contemporary China, many among the new generation don't consider marriage necessary.

Unlike men, China's single women are concentrated mainly in large cities, and a huge number of them are highly educated, and have high incomes and enjoy high social status. Such women are single because of their high requirements from their would-be spouse, such as sharing work and being treated as equals. But since traditionally, husbands are supposed to be "superior" to their wives in terms of education, income and social status, it is difficult for highly qualified and successful women to find a suitable spouse, not only because there are few such men but also because many Chinese men prefer to have a wife who is "not better than" them.

Moreover, some women voluntarily choose to be single, because they don't want marriage and family to prevent them from leading a life of their liking. The advantage of being single is being free and relaxed, and its disadvantage is not being able to enjoy a family life and share concerns.

Staying single may be gaining acceptance among some people in China, but it will have a negative impact on the birth rate and sustainable social development, and therefore should not be encouraged.


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: abortion; birthrate; china; genderwars; marriage; singles; trends
Notable stat: "males accounted for 69.1 percent in the 35-to-39 age group, and the male-female gender ratio in the 20-to-24 age group was 130:100."

The tragic result of so many female babies being aborted in China. :(

1 posted on 09/05/2017 2:09:53 PM PDT by EdnaMode
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To: EdnaMode

Then with the sperm banks you get swarms of siblings and half-siblings running around too.


2 posted on 09/05/2017 2:14:07 PM PDT by Morpheus2009
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To: KC_Lion

Ping.


3 posted on 09/05/2017 2:16:18 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: EdnaMode

So then there’s money to be made in a Chinese focused dating app?


4 posted on 09/05/2017 2:23:34 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (Did Barack Obama denounce Communism and dictatorships when he visited Cuba as a puppet of the State?)
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To: EdnaMode
males accounted for 69.1 percent in the 35-to-39 age group

So, in that demo men outnumber women more than 2 to 1.
Nah! I don't see a disaster in the making.

Many years ago I heard some sociologist say that the only logical solution the Chinese government could possibly find for such lopsided numbers would be war.

5 posted on 09/05/2017 2:25:00 PM PDT by stormhill
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To: a fool in paradise

And even more from sex robots.


6 posted on 09/05/2017 2:25:36 PM PDT by bigbob (People say believe half of what you see son and none of what you hear - M. Gaye)
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To: EdnaMode

Among immigrants from china to the US what is the ratio? Are we importing their sex imbalance?


7 posted on 09/05/2017 2:26:50 PM PDT by posterchild (Science makes the Dr. see what is not, and prevents him from seeing what is clear to everyone else)
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To: bigbob

The real money is going to be in cleaning services for sex robots.


8 posted on 09/05/2017 2:28:43 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (Did Barack Obama denounce Communism and dictatorships when he visited Cuba as a puppet of the State?)
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To: posterchild

>Among immigrants from china to the US what is the ratio? Are we importing their sex imbalance?

Yes.


9 posted on 09/05/2017 2:29:05 PM PDT by JohnyBoy (We should forgive communists, but not before they are hanged.)
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To: EdnaMode

China brought this on themselves, with their one child policy. If limited to one child, huge numbers of people wanted that one child to be a boy.


10 posted on 09/05/2017 2:32:17 PM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: EdnaMode

Here is my advice to all single people. China or US.

Life is so much easier when you have a partner.

Accumulating wealth is easier, and having happiness is easier.


11 posted on 09/05/2017 2:42:41 PM PDT by skinndogNN
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To: EdnaMode

It appears someone in China has noticed that with current trends their country will, as Mark Steyn put it, get old before it gets rich.


12 posted on 09/05/2017 2:43:59 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("Freedom is freedom, and not another thing."~Theodore Dalrymple)
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To: EdnaMode

A nice little war will take care of that problem.


13 posted on 09/05/2017 2:44:46 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: a fool in paradise

There already is and I’m a member:

asiame.com


14 posted on 09/05/2017 2:44:57 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist (We're right, you're wrong - that's the end of the argument.)
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To: dfwgator

The only problem is “what war”? With an ever growing nations having nuclear weapons, WWIII gets less and less practical when the other side can annihilate the people you fight for at home and you be virtually helpless to defend them.


15 posted on 09/05/2017 2:59:03 PM PDT by Morpheus2009
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

>>>There already is and I’m a member:

asiame.com<<<

How’s that working out for you?


16 posted on 09/05/2017 4:56:03 PM PDT by BJ1
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To: EdnaMode

That’s the understatement of the century.


17 posted on 09/28/2017 1:00:47 PM PDT by KentBearit
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