Hong Kong women looking for Mr Right will find it increasingly difficult 30 years from now when there will be only 709 men for every 1,000 women, according to the latest demographic statistics. Women in Hong Kong already outnumber men. According to figures from last year, there were 912 men for every 1,000 women. Excluding foreign domestic helpers, most of whom are women, there will be 763 men for every 1,000 women by 2036. According to the Census and Statistics Department, first signs of the trend emerged in the 1990s. In 1993 there were 1,063 men for 1,000 women. That ratio dropped to 998 in 2003 and it is projected to continue falling from 953 in 2008. The worst-hit age group is expected to be the 25 to 44 age range, in which the ratio is expected to fall from 907 men for every 1,000 in 2006 to 664 men for every 1,000 women in 2036. There is expected to be just 695 men for every 1,000 women in 2036 in the 45 to 65 group, down dramatically from the 1,030 men to 1,000 women last year. Commissioner for Census and Statistics Fung Hing-wang offered his explanations for the drop in the men-women ratio. 'Many foreign domestic helpers are here working in Hong Kong. And more mainland wives are coming to Hong Kong to join their husbands here. Moreover, women live longer than men,' said Mr Fung. By 2036, the life expectancy for women is expected to be 88.3 years, 5.6 years longer than for men, according to the population report. 'Excluding the foreign domestic helpers, the picture is not so gloomy,' Mr Fung said. 'In recent years, many Hong Kong women go to work on the mainland, where some of them can still find their Mr Right,' he added. He said this might keep the local birth rate low, a factor which he also attributed partly to the fact that many people were marrying at an older age. Figures provided by Mr Fung's department showed the median age at first marriage was 28 years for men and 25.3 for women in 1986. In 1996 it was 30 for men and 26.9 for women. Last year the median ages for a first marriages for men and women were 31.2 and 28.2 respectively.
