In adult population of a city, 40% men and 30% women are married. What is the percentage of married adult population if no man marries more than one woman and no woman marries more than one man; and there are no widows and widowers?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) 34 2/7%
Every married man has exactly one wife in the city, so married men equal married women: 40% of men = 30% of women, which makes men : women = 3 : 4. Then 1·2 + 1·2 = 2·4 of every 7 adults are married, i.e. 34 2/7%.
- Married men = married women, so 0·4M = 0·3W, giving M : W = 3 : 4.
- Take 3 men and 4 women: married men = 0·4 × 3 = 1·2, married women = 0·3 × 4 = 1·2.
- Married adults = 2·4 out of 7 = 24/70 = 12/35.
- 12/35 × 100 = 240/7 = 34 2/7%.
Remember · In marriage-count problems, equate married men and married women first; that fixes the ratio of the two groups.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·