KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian women are having difficulties finding the right man to marry.

According to the National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN), this was the main reason given by single women as to why they were not married yet.

LPPKN director-general Datuk Aminah Abdul Rahman said 40 per cent of women could not find the perfect partner and choose to marry late, thus leading to the country's low fertility rate.

"The decision to get married or delaying marriage is an individual choice. However, it becomes a phenomenon when such decisions become a community issue."

She said 19.3 per cent of men agreed with the women and had cited the same reason.

"However, a majority of the men, about 44 per cent, are putting off marriages due to financial constraints while 12.8 per cent give priority to career establishment over marriage.

"The average age of marriage for men and women has decreased from 25.5 to 22 years in 1970 and from 28 to 25.7 last year.

"The number of unmarried women between the age of 25 and 29 has increased three fold, from 13 per cent to 38 per cent.

"For men, the percentage has increased from 32 to 53 per cent."