HK people delaying marriage

2017-08-01 18:16:35

Hong Kong people are getting married later in life, with the median age at first marriage for women reaching 29.4 last year, while that for men was 31.4.

The first marriage ages for women and men were 25.3 and 28 in 1986.

The trend is outlined in the Census & Statistics Department's Women & Men in Hong Kong - Key Statistics (2017 Edition) published today.

The report said Hong Kong people were marrying later as they were spending more years in education and therefor starting careers later.

The percentage of never-married people surged by 60.9% for women and 13.8% for men.

With late marriages, the increased prevalence of spinsterhood as well as better education, more women have been joining the labour force.

The participation rate of women in the labour force rose from 48.9% in 1986 to 54.8% last year, while that for men dropped from 80.5% to 68.6%.

Meanwhile, the number of female directorate officers in the civil service increased significantly from 57 to 455 over the past three decades.

The difference in median monthly employment earnings between the two genders, however, widened from $2,000 to $4,000 between 2006 and 2016.

Click here to download the report.

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