Sex ratio of China's population deserves attention
Zeng, Y.; Tu, P.; Gu, B.; Xu, Y.; Li, B.; Li, Y.
China Population Today 9(6): 3-5
1992
PMID: 12318232 Document Number: 338330
A paper on the sex ratio at birth in China was presented at the international seminar on China's 1990 population census held during October 19-23, 1992 in Beijing. The normal sex ratio at birth is 106 male births/100 female births, which was the ratio in China in the 1960s and 1970s. However, in 1981 it increased to 108.5, then to 110.9 in 1986, to 111.0 in 1987, and to 113.8 in 1989. The sex ratios at ages 0-4 years were 107.0 in 1953, 106.2 in 1964, 107.1 in 1982, and 110.2 in 1990. The sex ratio at birth in 1989 was 105 for 1st parity births, but reached 120.9, 124.6, and 131.7 for 2nd, 3rd, 4th and higher parity births, respectively. The analysis of data from the 1990 National Census, the 1987 One Percent Population Sample Survey, and the 1988 Two-Per-Thousand Population Sampling Survey revealed that a serious underreporting of female births and increased illegal prenatal sex identification were the most important causes of the increase in the sex ratio at birth. The sex differential in underreporting births accounted for at least 42.6-51.3% of the difference between the normal value of 106 and the actual sex ratio at birth reported in the 1990 census. Data from the 1988 Two-Per-Thousand Population Sampling Survey showed that rate of underreporting of female births twice exceeded that of male births in the years between 1983 and 1988. The underreporting accounted for 54-88% of the difference between the normal value and the reported sex ratios. A great number of B ultrasonic scanning machines were introduced after 1982 in clinics and family planning service stations. Although they are not meant for nonmedical purposes, enforcement of rules is difficult in view of the preference for sons. Medical records of 1,243,284 pregnancies surveyed for birth defects at 945 hospitals indicated sex ratios of 108.0, 108.3, 109.1, and 109.7 in 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991, respectively. Underreporting rather than female infanticide is probably the main cause of these increasing sex ratios. Underreporting, however, has detrimental effects on health care and education and creates an unbalanced population sex structure.