We are all looking for the "one".
There's no argument about that.
In one of his regular columns in The New Daily, demographer Simon Kuestenmacher explained how to use Census data to help you find a partner.
He noted that love, or at least relationships, is also a numbers game.
And as you read on you'll learn why it's hard for some to find a partner.
Let's start with the basics
According to statistics, quoted by Simon Kuestenmacher in his TND column there are over 330,000 more women (12.88 million) than men (12.55 million) in Australia.
That means men have access to a dating pool that is about 2.6 per cent deeper.
Meaning the odds are in favour of men.
Simon Kuestenmacher further explained:
"Before the age of 28, there are more men than women.
Women can be pickier as the male surplus is around six per cent.
After 28, there are fewer men than women."
Social and educational profiles
Of course, we all know that choosing a partner is a bit more complex than just picking anyone of roughly the same age.
Simon explains that traditionally, we spoke about female upward social mobility via marriage.
This concept stems from a time when women were largely excluded from the workforce and were much less likely to attend university.
At the time, women couldn’t work their way to a higher social class and instead tried to marry up.
This enshrined a preference for better-educated and richer men.
Currently, even on online dating websites, women are apparently still much more likely than men to only look at profiles of people with a higher education or income than themselves.
Mr Kuestenmacher continued:
"Let’s say you are a 30-year-old woman with at least a BA degree, and you want a partner that is only a few years younger or a few years older than you and also holds at least a BA degree.
Your odds are quite frankly terrible.
There are 40 to 45 per cent more university-educated women in their late-20s to mid-30s than university-educated men."
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And what about the non-academic part of the population?
After all, that is still very much the majority of the population (71 per cent).
Mr Kuestenmacher further explained:
"If a man without a university education looks for a partner who also doesn’t hold academic credentials, he fights an uphill battle throughout his 20s and 30s when the relevant female dating pool is about 20 per cent smaller.
The obvious solution, on a purely numerical basis, is to not concern yourself with the level of education that your potential partner should hold.
If as a woman you are unwilling to lower your standards (and I am not suggesting you should) finding a partner matching your level of training and education will remain challenging."
The age of pickiness
For single women, let’s assume you completely drop any preference for income and education for a second.
How is the dating pool of single men work in your favour?
Mr Kuestenmacher said:
"Up to the age of 35, there are more single men than single women.
Women have it easier to find a partner.
The tide turns once you turn 36.
Single women will forever be more numerous than single men from then on.
There is a big chunk of 27-year-old single men.
Targeting them gives you the highest statistical likelihood of finding a partner.
If you are a man looking for a single female the chances improve the older you get.
At age 100+ there are three times as many single women than men."
The bottom line
Well, if, on top of being alive, you manage to gain a university degree and/or earn a decent income your success on the dating market is all but guaranteed after the age of 35.
That’s what the Census tells us about your success in the dating market, dear singles.
That is all that it can do for you.
From here on it’s over to fate, dumb luck, and that bow-wielding chubby baby…
Source of charts and commentary: The New Daily
