China’s alarming sex imbalance
https://www.economist.com/china/2025/02/20/chinas-alarming-sex-imbalance
The data reveal that the sex ratio—the number of men for every 100 women—among men aged 23-37 and women aged 22-36 will hit a peak of 119 by 2027. It is then predicted to remain high for decades. In 2012 the ratio was just 105. That means that in 2027 there will be 22.5m more men than women in those cohorts, by far the largest number of “surplus” young males ever recorded anywhere. What is more, the share of unmarried men aged 25-39 shot up from 13% to 30% from 2006 to 2022. The 2020 census showed the sex ratio for young adults was 106 in urban areas and 120 in rural ones. Young rural women who move to the city often marry richer urban men. But changing social mores around marriage mean many better-educated urban women do not want to get married at all, let alone to rural men, shrinking the dating pool yet further.
https://www.economist.com/china/2025/02/20/chinas-alarming-sex-imbalance
The data reveal that the sex ratio—the number of men for every 100 women—among men aged 23-37 and women aged 22-36 will hit a peak of 119 by 2027. It is then predicted to remain high for decades. In 2012 the ratio was just 105. That means that in 2027 there will be 22.5m more men than women in those cohorts, by far the largest number of “surplus” young males ever recorded anywhere. What is more, the share of unmarried men aged 25-39 shot up from 13% to 30% from 2006 to 2022. The 2020 census showed the sex ratio for young adults was 106 in urban areas and 120 in rural ones. Young rural women who move to the city often marry richer urban men. But changing social mores around marriage mean many better-educated urban women do not want to get married at all, let alone to rural men, shrinking the dating pool yet further.