The age distribution of China's population by five-year age groups in 2023 demonstrates that there are more females than males in the population for all age groups below 60 to 64 years. The largest gender difference exists for the younger age groups born between 2000 and 2010 when the one-child policy had been enforced most strictly.

The gender or sex ratio in China has been a contentious issue since the introduction of the one-child policy in 1979, intended to limit the population of the country. Although the policy is no longer in place, the population gender difference throughout the country is still evident. In 2023, fifteen to nineteen-year-old children had the largest gender disparity of 115.3 males to every 100 females. Gender imbalance While the difference of gender at birth has been decreasing in the country over the past decade, China still boasts the world’s most skewed sex ratio at birth at around 110 males born for every 100 females as of 2023. That means there are about 31 million more men in the country than women. This imbalance likely came from the country’s traditional preference for male children to continue the family lineage, in combination with the population control policies enforced. Where does that leave the population? The surplus of young, single men across the country poses a risk for China in many different socio-economic areas. Some of the roll-on effects include males overrepresenting specific labor markets, savings rates increasing, consumption reducing and violent crime increasing across the country. However, the adult mortality rate in China, that is, the probability of a 15-year-old dying before reaching age 60, was significantly higher for men than for women. For the Chinese population over 60 years of age, the gender ratio is in favor of women, with more females outliving their male counterparts.

As of 2023, the bulk of the Chinese population was aged between 25 and 59 years, amounting to around half of the population. A breakdown of the population by broad age groups reveals that around 61.3 percent of the total population was in working age between 16 and 59 years in 2023. Age cohorts below 25 years were considerably smaller, although there was a slight growth trend in recent years. Population development in China Population development in China over the past decades has been strongly influenced by political and economic factors. After a time of high fertility rates during the Maoist regime, China introduced birth-control measures in the 1970s, including the so-called one-child policy. The fertility rate dropped accordingly from around six children per woman in the 1960s to below two at the end of the 20th century. At the same time, life expectancy increased consistently. In the face of a rapidly aging society, the government gradually lifted the one-child policy after 2012, finally arriving at a three-child policy in 2021. However, like in most other developed countries nowadays, people in China are reluctant to have more than one or two children due to high costs of living and education, as well as changed social norms and private values. China’s top-heavy age pyramid The above-mentioned developments are clearly reflected in the Chinese age pyramid. The age cohorts between 30 and 39 years are the last two larger age cohorts. The cohorts between 15 and 24, which now enter childbearing age, are decisively smaller, which will have a negative effect on the number of births in the coming decade. When looking at a gender distribution of the population pyramid, a considerable gender gap among the younger age cohorts becomes visible, leaving even less room for growth in birth figures.

According to a survey among Chinese college students, the average age that male respondents entered their first relationship was at 16.27 years old. It was slightly older than 16.17 years old for female respondents. On average, Chinese university students had their first boyfriend or girlfriend at 16.22 years old.

During the 618 mid-year shopping festival in China, female consumers formed approximately 64.1 percent of the total number of highly sticky users of the social e-commerce platform Pinduoduo. However, the shares of men and women among new users during that promotion event were similar.

The statistic shows the number of singles in China in 2013, by age group and gender. In 2013, there were about 50 million single men between 20 and 24 years in China.

When it comes to an age difference in a relationship, the Chinese society has become more open-minded. According to a survey on the dating culture in China conducted in 2019, around 10.4 percent of the single male respondents stated that they could accept a romantic partner with an age difference of ten years. In the same survey, over half of respondents could tolerate an age difference between five and ten years.

This statistic shows the unemployment rate among people between 51 and 60 years in urban China in 2011, by gender. In 2011, 11 percent of women between 51 and 55 years were registered as unemployed in China.

In 2024, the sex ratio of the total population in China ranged at approximately ***** males to 100 females. Like most other sexual species, the sex ratio in humans tends to be one to one. But due to factors like sex selective abortions and different life expectancy between men and women, the sex ratio varies in different age groups. Gender imbalance in China China belongs to the countries with a very imbalanced sex ratio at birth. In 2023, the sex ratio in the population aging from 0 to 4 years old ranged at around *** males to 100 females. The high gender inequality can be attributed to the traditional preference for male children in the Chinese society. Although gender identification before birth is not legally allowed in China, selective abortions due to gender preference still exist in many regions of China. The importance of gender equality Gender imbalance can lead to many social problems, like the difficulty of finding a partner. Additionally, a country might also get economic benefits from its gender equality. According to the Global Gender Gap Report which was conducted by the World Economic Forum in 2017, there could be a *** trillion U.S. dollar increase in China’s GDP if the gender gap could be closed. As China’s one-child-policy was officially ended in 2015, the problem of selective abortion due to gender preference is also expected to be alleviated.

The graph shows the share of only children among male and female population under 30 years of age in China. In 2005, about 32 percent of the male population under 30 years of age and about 26 percent of the female population under 30 years of age were only children. The share of only children in the total Chinese population under 30 years of age amounted to 29.3 percent.

According to a survey about Chinese career women conducted in 2025, about **** percent of female respondents said they had experienced gender discrimination at work, whereas only **** percent of male respondents had similar experience. Similarly, more women than men felt that age was affecting their career prospects.

In 2022, around 46 percent of the cinema visitors in China were between 20 and 29 years old. Among these moviegoers, teen romance, Japanese animations, and thrillers were the most popular movie genres in 2022.

In 2023, the gender ratio in different regions in China varied greatly, from around 113.2 men per 100 women in Hainan province to only 97.1 men per 100 women in Liaoning. In most provinces in China, there are living more men than women, leading to a national gender ratio of around 104.2 men to 100 women in 2023.

The statistic shows the adult mortality rate in China from 2013 to 2023, by gender. According to the source, the adult mortality rate is the probability of dying between the ages of 15 and 60 - that is, the probability of a 15-year-old dying before reaching age 60, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year between those ages. In 2023, the mortality rate for women was at 55.27 per 1,000 female adults, while the mortality rate for men was at 107.86 per 1,000 male adults in China.

This statistic shows the share of migrant worker children growing up away from their parents in China in 2010, by age group and gender. The 6th National Population Census of the Republic of China concluded that 45.9 percent of rural children until the age of 17 who grow up without their parents were female.

This statistic shows the employment ratio in the age group 51 to 60 years in urban China in 2011, by gender. In 2011, 40 percent of women aged 51 to 55 years were employed in China.

As of August 2024, the majority of pet owners in China were women. Meanwhile, the share of male pet owners had increased from around 21 percent in 2021, to nearly 40 percent in 2024.

This statistic displays the percentage of the adult population involved in early-stage entrepreneurial activity in China as of June 2019, by gender. During the survey period, 9.4 percent of the adult male population in China reported to be in the process of starting a business or already started a business which is less than 42 months old.

Shopping apps in China had a relatively equal gender distribution in users. Data in September 2024 revealed that male users had a merely four percentage points higher share than their female counterparts. Millennials were most engaged in mobile shopping compared to other age groups.

The statistic shows the distribution of the single population in China in 2013, by age and gender. In 2013, almost 70 percent of singles between 35 and 39 years in China were male.