It is fairly common for women not to get married at what is commonly regarded as "the proper age", like 25 or younger. It happens in many parts of the world. But there are a few countries where women who don't conform are insultingly referred to as shengnv, or "leftover women", like those in China.

In August 2007, the Ministry of Education included the term shengnv in its list of categories in an official survey.

In December 2010, a survey on the marital status of Chinese had categories for such women.