The percentage of young unmarrieds is increasing in China, with more males than females staying single, and the country is facing a social time bomb in the years to come, China Youth Daily reported here on Tuesday.

In 2005, unmarrieds accounted for 65.89 percent of those aged from 15 to 29 and 45.71 percent of those from 15 to 35, the paper quoted a report released by the China Youth and Children Research Center and Renmin University of China.

The figures were only 59.17 percent and 40.8 percent respectively in 2000 and were as low as 51.54 percent and 38.23 percent in 1995, said the report based on the national census on one percent of total Chinese population in 2005.

One important reason for the increase in the number of unmarried young people is the serious gender imbalance. Statistics from the Information Office of the State Council show the sex ratio for newborns is 119 boys to 100 girls and the figure is more alarming in provinces such as Jiangxi, Guangdong, Anhui and Henan, where it stands as high as 130 in some areas.

According to the report, unmarried males aged from 15 to 29 and from 15 to 35 were 72.72 percent and 51.36 percent respectively and unmarried female were only 59.12 percent and 39.88 percent in 2005.

The report said it will become more difficult for low-income males to find suitable spouses as they get older. A large number of unmarried males will cause social problems, the report said.

The report calls for more concern for the unmarried male group, saying it is not only important for an individual's health but also for the stability of society.

When their basic biological demand is unable to be satisfied, the sex-starved male adult will become more violent, which will threaten the safety of the female, the report said.

Crimes such as abduction of women and human-trafficking are haunting the areas with the greatest gender imbalance, an official from the State Family Planning Commission said early this year.

Other reasons for the increase are that some young Chinese postpone their marriages because of fast living paces and also high working pressure amid China's rapid economic development, the report said.

Meanwhile, some young people enjoy a free single life and they prefer a late marriage, the report added.

(Xinhua News Agency, December 11, 2007)