Women are being forced to ‘dumb down’ in their search for a man, according to new research.

Increasing numbers of well-educated women are choosing men with lower educational achievements as partners to avoid staying single.

In the past, highly educated women were more likely to remain unattached – but that situation has now reversed, leading to men staying single.

The study, based on data from 28 European countries, including the UK, found that one man in five is in a relationship with a more highly educated woman.

About 75 per cent of women have now reached at least medium-level education, compared to 31 per cent of the previous generation, say researchers from the University of Leuven in Belgium.

The study said: ‘Highly educated women tend to react to the reversed gender gap in education by partnering down, while low-educated men, rather than partnering up, tend to stay single more often.’