Widening of the gender imbalance in China may result in 23 million Chinese men ending up as bachelors in the next ten years, a new study has revealed.
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), a government think tank, said in a report that as per 2005 census data the sex ratio of newborn babies was 120 male births to every 100 female births, falling well below the international average of 103-107 boys for every 100 girls born.
The Chinese infant sex ratio was 119.45 male births per 100 female births last year, said Li Bin, director of the National Population and Family Planning Commission.
The gender imbalance had already made it difficult for Chinese bachelors to find a wife.
As a result of this, some single young men from the cities would venture into the country side in search of brides, putting the rural boys at a disadvantage because urban bachelors have higher incomes and more stable jobs, official 'Global Times' reported.
Also more young urban men who have no stable jobs are already setting their sights on rural girls as they are failing to make an impression on more demanding urban women who look for men with good jobs and property.
Twenty nine year old Kong, from the Chaoyang district of Beijing has already resigned to his fate.
His mother had recently arranged for him to meet girls in the countryside.
"I have neither a high income nor a spacious apartment in Beijing, so none of my female colleagues wanted to marry me," Kong said.
Guan Qingbin, 25, a migrant worker in the Fengtai district of Beijing, said that he did not think he could find a wife in Beijing.
"In order to earn more money, I had to take two jobs, one in the daytime as a car repair technician and the other one at night as a driver for a private entrepreneur," Guang said.
"Even though I work this hard, I can only earn 3,000 yuan ($443) each month, which is inadequate to support the life of a family in Beijing".
"Maybe, I can find a girlfriend in the future in my hometown in Shangdong Province after I earn lots of money in Beijing," Guan said.
According to recent figures, China's population is expected to touch 1.4 billion by 2015 and as per the new trend the country would for the first time have over 700 million living in urban areas, outnumbering the rural folk.
By then, China too was expected to end up with 200 million people above 60 years.
This means that the young men and women would be stretched to look after their ageing parents.