
More than 30 million Chinese men could remain single: Statistics
A skewed male-female ratio will leave more than 30 million Chinese men single, official statistics have revealed, adding to the existing problems of a shrinking workforce and an ageing population caused to a large extent by restrictive population policies.
The gender gap has fallen in China over the past few years, but it continues to be among the worst performing countries in the world.
Analysis of the data collected by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that though the “...ratio of male to female births in China has decreased for seven years in a row, but it is still likely that more than 30 million males will have to stay single”.
“In the past two decades, the country’s sex ratio at birth has remained above 115, the most imbalanced in the world,” the bureau said.
The population data for 2015, made public by the NBS on Thursday, was not promising, state media said.
“In 2015, the population on the Chinese mainland topped 1.37 billion, 704.14 million of which were male and 670.48 million female -- a gender gap of 33.66 million. The overall sex ratio of the population was 105.02, and the sex ratio at birth was 113.51,” the media reported.
China remains the world’s most populous country, with India in second place.
Overall, despite the partial loosening of the one-child policy last year, China saw a decline in births. The two-children policy was made applicable across the country from January 1.
The report said China had 16.55 million babies born last year, 320,000 fewer than in 2014. China began to allow couples with one partner being an only child to have a second child in late 2013, which initially made 11 million couples eligible.
Overall, about 90 million Chinese couples have become eligible to have a second child under the policy.
China changed the one-child policy to change the population graph in the long run.
“It is predicted that 580,000 extra babies will be born in Beijing between 2017 and 2021, which will bring the total number of births between 2017 and 2021 in Beijing to 300,000 annually on average,” an earlier report had estimated.
But whether that aim will be fulfilled remains uncertain.
“However, as many couples are unwilling to have more children due to financial concerns, the potential of the policy to balance the country’s sex ratio remains uncertain,” the state media reported.

Mexican camp that was symbol of migrant misery empties out under Biden

Hong Kong: 4 people fall ill after receiving China's Sinovac Covid vaccine jabs

US will do what’s necessary to defend itself after attack in Iraq: Lloyd Austin

Workers worry about safety, stress as US states ease mask rules

India, Iran, Russia to be part of new US push to find settlement in Afghanistan
- Soon after Blinken’s letter was accessed by Afghanistan’s Tolo News on Sunday afternoon, the US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, spoke over the phone with external affairs minister S Jaishankar to discuss the peace process.

George Floyd's friends reflect on his striving, at times stumbling life

UK schools to reopen, backed by frequent Covid-19 testing

How women’s clothes became the first line of defence for protesters in Myanmar
- Protesters are stringing up women's clothing on lines across the streets of Myanmar to utilise a superstition in their favour.

Guyana receives 80,000 doses of Covishield Covid-19 vaccine from India

US flies two B-52 bombers over Iran as Washington-Tehran tensions rise
- The US military's Central Command said the two B-52s flew over the region accompanied by military aircraft from nations including Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli receives India-made Covishield Covid-19 vaccine

India, China should create 'enabling conditions' to resolve issues: Wang Yi

Willing to engage with all parties in Myanmar, says China’s foreign minister

Iranian British Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe ends 5-year sentence in spy case
- Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 42, was sentenced to five years in jail after being convicted of plotting to overthrow Iran’s government, a charge that she, her supporters and rights groups vigorously deny.

Protests erupt across Myanmar; Suu Kyi party official dies in custody
- The cause of Khin Maung Latt's death was not known, but Reuters saw a photograph of his body with a bloodstained cloth around the head.