New Delhi: India has the highest number of sugar daddies among all the Asian countries, according to a leading sugar dating website and app.
India with 3,38,000 sugar daddies is followed by Indonesia at 60,250.
The top ten countries include Malaysia (42,500), Japan (32,500), Hong Kong (28,600), Taiwan (27,300), Vietnam (12,000), South Korea (7,000), Sri Lanka (5,000) and Cambodia (3,500).
According to the website and app, SeekingArrangement, sugar daddies/mommies are defined as successful men and women who “enjoy attractive company by their side” and for whom money isn’t an issue.
An app official told ThePrint there are a total of 1.6 million sugar daddies in all the Asian countries, except China, which doesn’t use the website.
Sugar dating is an emerging phenomenon, especially in India.
Sugar dating app works like any regular dating app in which one has to answer basic questions about their age, gender and preferences, and can see the profiles of other people based on various parameters such as location, age and wealth. The person needs to indicate whether they are looking for ‘success and wealth’ or ‘looks and charm’.
“A platform like this helps connect young and empowered women with wealthier, more affluent men, who not only bolster their financial woes, but also act as a mentor or gateway in catapulting a promising future for these sugar babies,” said CEO and founder of SeekingArrangement Brandon Wade in a statement.
Sugar babies are “attractive people looking for the finer things in life and who appreciate exotic trips and gifts,” according to the app.
Inequality, unemployment popularised sugar dating
The website stated in the statement that inequality, high unemployment and growing wealth of billionaires during the Covid-19 lockdown made sugar dating a popular affair in the Asian region.
It also quoted data by Knight Frank Wealth Report from the past five years, according to which India, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong are among the countries that have the highest number of billionaires in the Asian region.
The latest Oxfam report also stated that India’s top 100 billionaires’ wealth increased to such an extent during the pandemic that if divided equally, it could translate to over Rs 94,000 each for 138 million of India’s poorest.
SeekingArrangement quoted another article by Forbes, which noted that Indonesia has a collective wealth of $133 billion attributed only to its super-wealthy citizens.
Also read: Mumbai is hotbed of sugar dating, Delhi close second — website says unemployment is reason