(ECNS) - The ratio of male to female births in China has decreased for seven years in a row, but it is still likely that more than 30 million males will have to stay single, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
In 2015, the population on the Chinese mainland topped 1.37 billion, 704.14 million of which were male and 670.48 million female -- a gender gap of 33.66 million. The overall sex ratio of the population was 105.02, and the sex ratio at birth was 113.51.
At a seminar held in early 2015, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said China's male-to-female birth ratio remained high, with adverse effects already showing and that the risk was further expanding. In the past two decades, the country's sex ratio at birth has remained above 115, the most imbalanced in the world.
Late last year, China announced an ease on the one-child policy that came into force in the 1970s, allowing all families to have a second child.
However, as many couples are unwilling to have more children due to financial concerns, the potential of the policy to balance the country's sex ratio remains uncertain.
