The View | Hong Kong’s man shortage problem is unlike any other city

A flight of human capital in the run-up to the 1997 handover has left the city with a dearth of men aged between 25 and 59

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United Nation’s population data shows a relative shortage of men to women in the 25 to 59 age bracket. Depicted is Li Shaozhuang, winner of the half marathon crossing the finish line of the Hong Kong Marathon 2016 at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 11:11am, 21 Jul 2016Updated: 6:10pm, 22 Jul 2016

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single Hong Kong woman in possession of a good fortune does not need a man. Apologies to Jane Austen - but why should she, when she has everything?

Many young professional women in Hong Kong have a great education, a great job, a great car, and great friends – so a gentleman is surplus to requirements. This might result from the fact that our city has a most unusual population distribution (see the U.N. website: www.populationpyramid.net).

The implication is that women have successfully filled the gap in the workforce, especially at professional levels – and they have been very successful

The world of 7.4 billion people is dominated by the young and growing developing world with a population pyramid that looks like a space rocket with a fat bottom, a thinning upper section and a sharp narrowing as death still takes too many, too young. There is a slight predominance of males up to the age of 50 but the stronger of the species then starts to dominate as the men fade away.

The mature developed markets are ageing quite differently. The US has a population distribution evenly distributed at all ages until it begins to shrink from the age of 55, with a long peak representing longevity. The UK looks podgy with bumps revealing post World War II baby boomers and 1960s immigration. Germany looks like a body builder, with wide 50-year old shoulders and the steep falls in birthrate typical of an industrial economy, while Japan (with one of the oldest demographics) displays population surges reflecting the post-war recovery and the boom times of the 1970s. The imbalance caused by the loss of young men in battle is dying out.

China has a confused pyramid with birth surges at 25, 45 and 60 years of age, reflecting periods of historical conflict and birth irregularities caused by the one child policy. The period of the policy neatly corresponds with boys significantly outnumbering girls. China’s birth rate was genuinely out of control from the end of the War, with growth peaking in 1970, but future ageing means that the demographics will become more like Germany or Japan in the next two decades.