Singletons exceed population of UK, Russia combined, not hurting economy: expert

Experts dismissed Monday a recent report that claimed the growing number of Chinese singletons are hurting the national economy.

There were 200 million single adults living in China as of 2015, a 2016 China Central Television report said.

It also claimed that the proportion of the population living alone grew to 14 percent in 2014, up from 6 percent in 1990, citing the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The Hong Kong- based South China Morning Post quoted Zhang Ning of the China National Academy of Economic Strategy as saying that “the growing number of singletons does more harm to the economy than good.”

It said the number of single Chinese adults equals “the total of the entire populations of Russia and the UK combined.”

However Zhang Yi, a research fellow at the National Institute of Social Develop- ment at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that this phenomenon is also seen in many developed nations.

“Whether the population is single or not has no effect on economic growth, since slowing economic growth is a result of increased economic volume and industrial transfers, from manufacturing to services,” Zhang Yi said.

Single adults spend a lot of money on services, especially dining, recreation and the online sector. They tend to spend a larger part of their income than married adults, who prefer saving money for unexpected expenses, he told the Global Times.

Zhang Ning argued in the South China Morning Post that singletons have fewer responsibilities compared to their married peers.

However, Li Changan, a professor at the School of Public Administration of the University of International Business and Economics, said “it is not accurate to categorize singles into a homogenous group. Their consumption demands and economic contribution vary.”

There are at least three different kinds of unmarried people – those who are single for now but will get married eventually, those who have chosen not to marry, and who cannot find a partner, Li said.