Why do foreign men look for Russian brides? Undoubtedly, one of the reasons is the beauty of Russian women. However, lately, men have often complained that less and less beautiful Russian women appear on dating and introduction agencies' websites.

I, as agency owner, am not indifferent to such concerns on the part of men, so I have decided to make a kind of small inquiry.

Following Karl Marx's principle "Economy determines policy" I went to the official site of Ukraine's State Statistics Committee (http://www.ukrstat.gov.ua).

Let us begin with demography:

It is quite obvious that the proportion of women's population to men's population remains the same. For one Ukrainian man there are 1,15 women.

However… unfortunately, this proportion dropped by 0,2% in 2000, in comparison with the year of 1990. The reason - a high level of women's emigration and a high birthrate of boys.

To us (the side which is interested in lonely ladies), this information (53,1% of women's population in Ukraine) sounds optimistic. But…one section from the general statistics data attracted my attention – "Children born by officially unmarried women".

A very interesting picture, isn't it? What is that? Growing emancipation among Ukrainian women? Possible, but without being financially secure even a most emancipated woman would hardly take a serious step such as giving birth to a child without official father.

It may seem that Ukrainian women are becoming more financially secure. We will talk about salaries in Ukraine a little bit later, and now let us consider one more demographical aspect, which is very important as well – the number of divorces and marriages in Ukraine.

After the peak of divorces in 1998-2000, private entrepreneurship started to develop in Ukraine, Ukrainian people began to understand the meaning of private capital, and women were not far behind men in doing business. So, a Ukrainian family began to become stronger. By the end of 2002, in comparison with 2000, the divorce rate dropped to 14%.

And now let us look at the dynamics of salaries in Ukraine

How real is it for a lonely woman to live (and what if she has at least one child?) in Ukraine for $59 per month? Of course she will not be able to afford expensive shoes ($100-200), but…if there is no other way out, one can live even on $59. If her parents have an opportunity to help her, it is also good support. Only one woman out of 10 can reply on substantial alimonies ($20-40 a month and more), but let us not forget that an average monthly salary of a Ukrainian lady is $59 per month.

And men? The table shows that an average monthly salary of a Ukrainian man is higher than a woman's monthly average salary. Seventy eight dollars is a man's average monthly salary, but we also take into account the fact that 40% (according to unofficial data - even 50%) of Ukraine's economy is still underground. It means that a real monthly average salary of a man is $156.

The age of a potential capable man who has grown adjusted to market economy is 25-38 years. So, what kind of life partner will a self-confident man seek for? Of course, first of all, a most attractive lady will be the object of his interest.

Alcoholism of Russian and Ukrainian men… yes it is a fact that Russian men abuse alcohol more than foreign men do, but…lately consumption of alcoholic beverages has dropped, and the reason for it is simple – just lack of time and availability of jobs. Unemployment, being very common 3-8 years ago, is not popular among young men now. Lately, Ukrainian men have also been inclined to go abroad searching for good jobs.

Let us make conclusions from the above-mentioned numbers:

1. The life standard in Ukraine is growing.

2. The number of men who are able to provide for their family is growing.

3. Men's interest is directed to attractive women aged 18-30.

4. Women who are able to provide for themselves and their children will not seek to create families.

5. Pretty and young women are popular among successful Ukrainian men. "Why should I look for an overseas prince when I have enough admirers among Ukrainian men?!" - considerations typical of young Ukrainian women.

The information about average monthly salaries in different Ukraine's regions is even more interesting

And now let us consider the same information (on salaries in different Ukraine's regions) in terms of pay rise

Having such information, I have come to understand why I have found only 16 ladies who live in Kiev aged 18-30 on the site of one of Kiev's biggest dating agencies, which offers from 2000 to 2500 ladies!!!

Now let us recall the cities which are mostly often mentioned in Anti-scam programs – the cities, in which ladies-scammers live. They are Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa, Lugansk (Ukraine's capital of Internet scammers) and Kharkov.

A lady who has a salary which allows her to pay for Internet cafes, to buy a personal computer, to use an interpreter's services (if she speaks bad English) and pay to an expensive photographer does not pursue the goal of finding a life partner and creating a family. Her goal is to cover the funds invested in meeting a foreign man, and to multiply her savings.

Let us make conclusions:

1. The higher the life standard of people in a certain city of Ukraine is, the more probable it is to come a cross a lady-scammer.

2. In cities with a higher life standard, there is a smaller probability for a foreign man to meet a lonely pretty lady of 18-30 years old.

The question arises – is it not possible to find a young, pretty and serious lady for marriage in Ukraine? Perhaps it is, but with each year it will be more and more difficult to do.

To see how correct my conclusions are, we will look at the data provided by big American agencies, which offer from 5000 to 180000 potential life partners:

Data available on February 16, 2004:

Interesting, isn't it? There are more of Ukrainian women than Russian women on websites. Let us add another piece of information to the data, and the general picture will be even more interesting:

And now let us compare an average monthly salary of a citizen of Russia and Ukraine (according to the data provided by Russia's and Ukraine's State Committees of Statistics):

RESUME:

1. The quantity and quality (sorry for the expression) of ladies presented on international marriage websites and agencies will be dropping.

2. It is quite possible that prices for services at international dating agencies with a good reputation will be rising.

Credit: WWW.BOGDANA.NET