Cambodia 4th “most single” country in South-East Asia
According to data compiled by the United Nations (UN) Cambodia is the 4th most single country in Asia should you need any more incentive to visit the Kingdom.
Yet before you start thinking of romance there are some nuances to not just the data, but also the cultures of the country on the list that should be considered.
Who are top of the list?
According to the data Roman Catholic nation the Philippines tops the list of singletons, with a whopping 49% of the country declaring themselves “not in a relationship”.
This data though might be somewhat skewed as the country does not allow divorce, meaning that couples who do split up and form new relations declare themselves “single”. It should also be noted that the country has by far the highest amount of single mothers within the region.
Amazingly Brunei come second on the list at 44.9 percent, but again there are more than a few nuances here. Brunei follows Sharia law which means sex out of wedlock is illegal, so this number pretty much counts those not married.
And Cambodia?
Cambodia comes in at 4th place with a surprisingly high 44.6% of people declaring themselves single, just behind Malaysia at 44.68%. So, why are so many people in Cambodia still single?
Quite simply Cambodia has an extremely young population, with almost 30% of the population being 14 and under. But, this is not the only reason! As well as having such a young population Cambodia has also gone through an economic boom since the end of Khmer Rouge rule and the brutal civil war that followed.
This has led young people, particularly in urban areas to marry much later than in previous generations, thus making the “single list” higher than it would have been in previous times.
And the least single?
Officially the least single country within ASEAN is also its newest member, namely Timor-Leste with only 13% percent of those polled declaring themselves “available”.
East Timor as it is also known is also devoutly Catholic, although it would appear that less people here are splitting up. This is particularly surprising as Timor actually has the youngest population demographic within the region.
And the full table?
The full single list for ASEAN nations is as follows;
Philippines 48%
Brunei 44.9%
Malaysia 44.68%
Cambodia 44.6%
Myanmar 29%
Thailand 23%
Indonesia 22%
Singapore 20%
Laos 17%
Vietnam 16%
Timor-Leste 13%