While the rest of the nation frets over the rising proportion of boys
to girls, in Shanghai it is successful single women who are finding it
increasingly hard to find a spouse.
According to the latest survey, the number of single women with degrees
and downtown jobs is on the rise.
The population sampling survey, conducted by Shanghai Municipal
Statistics Bureau, reveals a rapid rise in the size of the unmarried
population, especially women.
The survey interviewed 1 percent of the city's 17
million people, finding a 1.6 percent growth in the unmarried population
of those older than 15 with the growth of unmarried women 0.9 percent
higher than that of men.
Although the overall number of single men is still higher than that of
unmarried women, in some areas single women now outnumber their male
counterparts.
The growth in the total number of single people is attributed to the
spread of college education, which often delays marriage plans.
Many women may also postpone hunting for spouses while they develop
their careers.
According to the survey, the growth of unmarried women with three years
at college, four years at university and a postgraduate degree are 7.6
percent, 6.3 percent and 0.4 percent respectively.
By comparison, figures for men with the same qualifications are 5.8,
3.5 and 0.3 percent.
The study also found the likelihood of a woman
being single increased with her home's proximity to the downtown area.
The city's unmarried now constitute 21.4 percent of the total
population over the age of 15, with the percentage growing to 24.3 in the
downtown area.
