China Reportedly Has 20 Percent More Men Than Women

-Brian Carnell: February 01, 1999

A far more disruptive phenomenon than the aging of the population is China's sex ratio which has only grown worse in the past few years -- the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing reports that there are now 120 males for every 100 females in China. Historically, China has had a high sex ratio, but this level is unheard of in modern times.

The culprit appears to be modern technology combined with the one child policy. The male to female gap has grew significantly in 1980s and 1990s with the introduction of ultrasound and amniocentesis technologies into China. Both techniques made it much easier for parents to determine the sex of a fetus and abort female fetuses if desired. A study of the sex ratios of live births at 900 Chinese hospitals found the sex ratio increased from 108 in 1989 to 109.7 in 1991. Other Asian nations have seen their sex ratios increase as well, though none to the extent of China's.

Ironically China's one-child policy indirectly encourages couples to abort female fetuses. Since many Chinese still see the ideal family as one boy and one girl, a relaxation of the one child policy would likely discourage the strong tendency to use sex selective abortion to ensure the first child is a male in case the parents don't get the chance or can't afford to have a second child (in many parts of China, large fees are imposed on couples who have more than one child).