Graph Showing Age by Gender
2010 Census - China

The report predicted that by 2020 the imbalance would mean men of marriageable age - especially those with low income or little education - would find it difficult to find wives, resulting in possible social problems. The problem is not just a rural issue, with the newborn gender imbalance also widening in cities. In the first 11 months of 2006, there were 109 boys born in Beijing for every 100 girls.

China Daily said one way to solve the problem would be to create a proper social security system so rural couples would not feel they needed a son to depend on when they get old. Up to 800 million of China's 1.3 billion people live in the countryside.