Yahoo Lifestyle Where Have All The Men Gone?
If you’re wondering where all the men have gone, it’s not just you: Australia currently has 100,000 more females than males.
Six of the country’s eight states and territories are currently experiencing a man drought, even though there are more male babies born than females, according to McCrindle Research.
"The man drought is a demographic reality,” says Mark McCrindle, a social researcher and demographer who analysed the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ data on the ratio of men to women across Australia’s regions.
“It’s most evident during the working years — people in their mid 30s to mid 60s — and is a sign of the global workforce flow and the propensity of Australian men to take advantage of overseas work opportunities,” he says.
But before you start planning your life with a bunch of cats, here are the best places in Australia to meet an eligible single bachelor should you wish to do so:
1. The Northern Territory: There are almost 111 males to every 100 females here according to new research. This is simply due to the nature of jobs in the territory: they’re more labour-intensive.
2. Western Australia: Australia’s mining capital is also one of the top places in the country to find a single man, with 102 males to every 100 females.
And here are the worst (sorry):
1. Victoria: “If you live in Victoria, you are unfortunately in the epicentre of the man drought,” says dating coach James Maclane. “The state has 98 males to every 100 females, which might not sound like a huge difference, but means that across the state there are 58,399 more women than men. With the second lowest fertility rate in Australia, there are fewer births in Victoria (which is the source of more males compared to females) and an older median age (a driver of more females to males).”
2. Sydney: those living in Sydney tend to be high-flying career chasers. "In Sydney you regularly see large groups of attractive women with no guys whatsoever,” says Maclane. “Even the most desirable women can really struggle here with the 'man drought'. So much so, that many decent women just give up on dating altogether, making the dating pool even smaller for less confident guys.
“Sydney has become very much like New York and London: There are lots of accomplished, lonely people here.”
Tasmania and Adelaide are reportedly in dire straights when it comes to the man drought as well.
In a story published in marie claire, researchers predicted that by 2020, the average 49-year-old woman is likely to have as much chance of meeting a man her age as a 79-year-old woman does.
“The man drought is very real," warns trend forecaster Bernard Salt.
Demographer Hugh Mackay expects that the average age of motherhood will drop from around 31* today to the late 20s as women make more definite choices about parenthood. But as the birthrate continues to decline, the demographic story will be complex. "There'll be more non-parents in the young adult population than ever before and we'll have moved even further towards more over-parenting.”
Nearly one in three households will be one-person units, while another 30 per cent will have just two people. "It doesn't mean there will be a lot of Australians wanting to live solitary lives, it just means that more people will be undergoing episodes of living solo because of a higher divorce rate," says Mackay.
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