China has 249m unmarried people above 18: report

There are 249 million unmarried Chinese people above the age of 18, with men more anxious than women to date, be in a relationship and get married, said a joint report released by Jiayuan.com and the National Population and Family Planning Commission.

The 2012-2013 Report on Marriage Values among Young Chinese said that among the unmarried population born in the post-70s, post-80s and post-90s years, there are 23.15 million more males than females. The unbalance of males and females is obvious, and the ratio among those born in the post-70s is 206 to 100.

According to the report, younger people are more eager to establish relationships, while older people are more eager to meet their partner's parents and get married.

The average age for Chinese males and females to get married is 26.7 and 24.9, which is 1.4 and 1.5 years older, respectively, compared with their peers 10 years ago.

From the first date, men think they should get married after 11.4 months on average, while women think it should be 13.3 months on average.

Among females from 18 to 25, more than 70 percent are willing to find a man who is 10 years older than them. About 86 percent of the males are willing to live together before marriage, while only 36 percent of the females are willing to do so.

About 66 percent of the males believe that owning a home and a car are not necessary requirements to get married, while 52 percent of females consider that owning a house is necessary.