Last updated: September 30, 2016



Yes, it’s true: Australia is experiencing a man drought

Where have all the men gone? 1:07

Alison Stephenson crosses to Channel Ten's Wake Up to talk about Australia's man drought.

Alone and lonely, like 100,000 other Australian women.

Alone and lonely, like 100,000 other Australian women. Source: Supplied

IF YOU’VE been feeling a little lonelier than usual and wondering if all the men have disappeared, the good news is, it’s not all in your head — the bad news is, you are right. The men HAVE disappeared.

Six out of Australia’s eight states and territories are currently experiencing a man drought, according to McCrindle Research — and there are almost 100,000 more women than men.

“The man drought is a demographic reality,” says Mark McCrindle, a social researcher and demographer who analysed the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ data on the ratio of men to women across Australia’s regions.

“Australia has 100,000 more females than males even though there are more male babies born than females, and there are more males than females until around age 35,” he said.

One of the reasons we have a man drought is because men are increasingly heading overseas to work.

“The man drought is most evident during the working years — people in their mid 30s to mid 60s — and is a sign of the global workforce flow and the propensity of Australian men to take advantage of overseas work opportunities,” he says.

When you hit your mid 70s, the man drought becomes far more evident “as the longevity of women exceeds that of men. By the mid 80s, there are 50 per cent more females than males.”

McCrindle’s research map. More: www.mccrindle....

McCrindle’s research map. More: Source: Supplied

Hardest hit states include Tasmania, where every single town is experiencing a man drought, and Victoria.

If you live in Victoria, you are unfortunately in the epicentre of the man drought. The state has 98 males to every 100 females, which might not sound like a huge difference, but means that across the state there are 58,399 more women than men.

“With the second lowest fertility rate in Australia, there are fewer births in Victoria (which is the source of more males compared to females) and an older median age (a driver of more females to males)” explains Mr McCrindle.

“Victoria has no male dominated sectors such as mining or defence, and as a state that has been the provider of much of the mining labour in WA, it leads Australia in the man drought stakes.”

So if Victoria has supplied Western Australia with men for the mines, does that mean good ol’ WA is abounding in men? The short answer is: Yes.

More and more Aussie men are moving overseas for work.

More and more Aussie men are moving overseas for work. Source: Supplied

“The reliance of states like WA and the NT on mining and the dominance of males to females in this sector (85 per cent to 15 per cent) is the reason that there are far more men than women here,” McCrindle says. In fact, in the NT, there are almost 111 males to every 100 females. In WA, there are 102 males for every 100 females.

“In addition, the dominance of Defence bases in the top end, and the younger average median age of these areas (the older the people, the more likely the man drought) drives these demographics” says McCrindle.

There are also pockets of men in other states across Australia. In NSW, head to Singleton, where there are 5 per cent more males than females — and their average age is 33.

Queensland’s Mt Isa has 12 per cent more males than females, while Spring Hill has 27 per cent more men than women.

Men at the Iron Baron mine near Whyalla in South Australia.

Men at the Iron Baron mine near Whyalla in South Australia. Source: News Limited

Whyalla in South Australia is one of the few towns not experiencing a man drought, with 241 more men than women. There may be a man drought, but there are men out there.

So what would McCrindle say to the women who complain they can’t find a man? Two things:

1. Look for younger men: Men exceed women until age 36. In Australia brides are on average two years younger than grooms, and brides are marrying later (the average age of marriage for a female is 28, while a male is 30). However, if a 28-year-old female looks at males of the same (or slightly younger age), there are 103 males for every 100 females.

2. Look overseas: There are more than 70 countries with more males than females, including the Maldives and Samoa. Failing that, look interstate as our man drought map shows, but also look locally. Sometimes adjoining suburbs can have one with more males and the next with more females due to a quirk of employment, education and housing options in these specific suburbs.

Alternatively, you can always find solidarity in this:

I don't need a man