China's population of single adults is estimated at 200 million. The proportion of adults who live by themselves had grown to 14 percent in 2013 from 6 percent in 1990. Since 2013, the rate of marriage in China has begun declining drastically. About 20 million people aged between 20 and 39 live alone. In a recent report from South China Morning Post, some economic experts said a large population of single people poses obstacles to economic growth. The assertion sparked controversy the moment it was put forward.

Some argue that single people don't need to shoulder the task of supporting a family or raising children as married people do, so they would be less motivated to work hard. Unlike married people, in particular those who become parents, singletons have no need to buy baby care products or pay for children's education. Therefore, singletons spend less money than married ones.

Others say that singletons may not necessarily be leading low-quality lives. For example, "Singles' Day" on November 11 has become an annual online shopping spree in China. Single men are more interested in fitness and traveling while single women pay a lot of attention to beauty treatments. Additionally, many single people keep pets, which is a big expenditure for them. They are more willing and free to spend time on entertainments like going to Karaoke bars and the cinema. Single people are also major consumers of luxury goods. Since they do not need to maintain families, single people may focus on their own needs. Some of them don't think twice about buying goods. In this sense, single people contribute no less than the married to the country's economic growth.

Negative impacts

Zhang Ning (news.sina.com.cn): People take it for granted that single people who have stable jobs and salaries in cities are transforming the overall consumption model and are contributing to certain sectors. However, I believe their negative impacts on the country's economic growth outweigh their positive impacts. Since they don't shoulder as many responsibilities as married people, they tend to develop a lazy attitude to life, which further affects and corrodes their diligence in work.

Take Japan for example, where more and more people are refusing to marry. Some believe they only need to feed themselves and take care of themselves, without the pressure of creating more wealth to sustain a family. Thus, the high proportion of single people is actually doing harm to the Japanese economy.

Compared to married people, single adults have a stronger sense of economic insecurity. Research shows that a family's purchasing power and average expenses are much higher than those of a person who lives alone. Married people feel much more secure about their financial situation, as their economic burden is shared.

Single people are usually under pressure to plan for their future, and are thus more reluctant to buy expensive things. When it comes to married people, the case is different. Parents tend to spend a lot on commodities for their babies, such as clothes, toys and so on. Additionally, they are willing to spend money on their spouses. As a result, married people help a lot to push forward the country's economic growth.

New trends

Wang Shaozhe (www.haiwainet.cn): The growing number of single people is a result of China's economic development. Before the urbanization drive, most Chinese lived in rural areas in a relatively closed social environment. Marriage and family were more important in peoples' eyes at that time. Usually, most people were married in their early 20s. Later, large-scale urbanization and rapid economic growth led to population migration and the change in social structure. Chinese people's ideas about marriage have become diversified. Young people who leave hometowns are busy working to pursue a better life in large cities. They lack the channel or time to date in strange cities. So, the average age of marriage has gone up in Chinese cities.

In a traditional society, marriage is primarily regarded as a means to promote the prosperity of families. Getting married was seen as an individual's responsibility to meet the expectations of parents. But marriage is now regarded as a personal decision. Increasing tolerance and respect for this trend reflect social progress in China.

With further urbanization and economic development, it is likely that there will be even larger numbers of single people. This is a natural social tendency. Those who assert that a rising number of single people will hurt economic growth are scaremongerers.

Li Foluo (www.pedaily.cn): Some analysts say that single adults have a negative influence on economic growth. They claim that single people don't work as hard or spend as much as married people do.

In reality, many of China's single people are white-collars with a middle income in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. According to a report issued by Beijing-based CITIC Securities, 10 percent of the country's single adults boast monthly disposable incomes of more than 8,000 yuan ($1,226). Among them, around 7 percent of single women have an annual income of more than 200,000 yuan ($30,649).

Some say that they spend less than married people. Indeed, singletons eat in restaurants or go shopping less than married ones, but this does not mean they don't spend money. They tend to buy things online and order take-out food.

Companies have responded to the trend, which mirrors the demographic shifts already experienced by China's East Asian neighbors like South Korea and Japan. Japanese chain Muji has introduced smaller rice cookers, ovens and kettles to meet the market need.

The singles' market actually has provided great commercial opportunities for many sectors. Investors believe they can make big money by investing in two areas: helping to make single people live a more enjoyable life; and helping them to find spouses.

Moreover, single people are usually generous to themselves. Their demand for eating and having fun has contributed to the boom of new industrial chains.

Most single people think cooking will take up too much time. They prefer to order meals online. China's take-out business has witnessed sharp growth. Meituan-Dianping, a restaurant review and food delivery company, said that there is a growing demand for ordering fast food via smart phones and 65 percent of its orders came from unmarried customers.

Furthermore, according to statistics from online travel agency Ctrip, single passenger travel has grown from 8.3 percent in 2014 to 15 percent in 2016, and 60 percent of the travelers are female. Tourism agencies have developed a series of travel services targeted at the group of single people.

When this group ages, their nursing and medical care needs will also bring great business opportunities.

Zhang Yiwei (Shanghai Morning Post): Like many other countries, China is also experiencing a surging singles' economy. In some cities, services catering to the new market are emerging. For example, some restaurants in Guangzhou have designed seats and set meals for singles.

Single women can get service to help them move to new apartments, fix lights and more through apps on smart phones. Conversely, men can also get services to clean their rooms and wash clothes.

As for those trying to find a spouse, training programs such as bodybuilding and cooking, which are designed to enhance their personal charisma, have become more and more popular. Singles actually bring plenty of money-making opportunities.

Copyedited by Bryan Michael Galvan

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