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LIVING IN CHINA

China’s greatest philanderers? IT nerds

Which professions cheat on their spouses the most?

The stereotype of the socially awkward IT worker, who’s more likely to come across a naked woman on the Internet than in real life, has taken something of a, uh, beating this week. An article from the 21st Century Business Herald says that the most likely member of either gender group to have an affair are… men working in IT.

That’s right. The guy who likes talking about algorithms and watching Big Bang Theory is more likely to be conducting a clandestine sexual affair than Wall Street type bros working in finance, according to the article, which cited figures from the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Then again, both professions are known for their hyper-masculine work environment and dubious ethics—so maybe it all makes sense.

The third most promiscuous profession was education. Ever wondered what was really going on in the common room, but were afraid to ask— and how many of these male teachers are having affairs with students?

For women, the situation was somewhat different, with the likeliest “industry” for extramarital liaisons being housewives, who “reportedly stray in search of love and affection”—fitting the classic stereotype of the desperate, lovelorn housewife.

The report also had details on which cities top the rankings for divorces, though the figures are not cut and dried. There are separate figures for the proportion of divorces per capita, and the proportion of divorces compared to the number of marriages. Looking at divorces compared to total population, Beijing takes the crown, with 39 percent splitting at some point.

But stripping away the people who never get married, and simply looking at the percentage of marriages that break down, Beijing drops to fourth place with 51 percent of marriages ending in divorce. Meanwhile, Tianjin takes the crown with 61 percent of marriages collapsing. Who said living in Tianjin was dull?

Cover image from Mtime

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David Dawson is the former deputy editor of The World of Chinese.

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