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Discuss this article (8 Comments)UAE blamed for Australian 'man drought'
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Saturday, 30 August 2008
The UAE has been blamed for a gender imbalance in Australia, which has seen single women down under suffering a severe ‘man drought’.
New Australian census figures have revealed there are almost 100,000 more females than males in Australia, according to a report by British broadcaster the BBC on Saturday.
The report quotes Australian demographer Bernard Salt as saying the exodus of young men to foreign countries is the cause of the imbalance.
"If you go into the United Arab Emirates census you'll find there is around 12,000 Australians living in Dubai, mostly male, mostly in the 25 to 34-year age group.
"Here is an example of one country that has drawn out a specific age demographic out of Australia which has contributed to the 'man drought'," Salt told the BBC.
The Australian statistics have revealed the problem is worse in the coastal cities, where women have moved seeking better jobs and lifestyles, while thousands of men in their 20s and early 30s have gone overseas to travel or to work.
Major cities in Australia now have concentrated groups of unattached women, along with dwindling numbers of the opposite sex.
But outside of larger Australian towns and cities is different, with women abandoning rural areas, leaving behind communities loaded with younger males.
Earlier this month the major of remote Australian town Mount Isa sparked a political storm after calling for ugly women to move to the Queensland mining town.
John Molony had told a newspaper that "with five blokes to every girl, may I suggest that beauty-disadvantaged women should proceed to Mount Isa".
The council has since been swamped with complaints from both men and women.
Located 1,829km from Brisbane, Mount Isa is home to one of the world's biggest underground mines.
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