Recently, many regions have launched campaigns to combat the “two illegal activities”, pointing to balanced population development.
In late November, the Health Bureau of Luodian County, Guizhou Province, in conjunction with the County Market Supervision Administration and the Medical Security Bureau, launched a special enforcement campaign against the “two illegal” (i.e., illegal use of ultrasound technology and other means of non-medically necessary fetal sex identification and illegal sex-selective artificial pregnancy termination) to ensure a balanced development of the sex ratio at birth in the county.
So, what is the population sex ratio across China? According to data from the China Statistical Yearbook (2020), in 2019, in Guizhou Province, where Luodian County is located, for example, the overall sex ratio there was 107.4 (female = 100), exceeding the national average of 104.46, ranking 6th in the country for areas with a high sex ratio. The regions ranked 1-3 in sex ratio are Tianjin, Guangdong and Shanghai, reaching 123.2, 118.1 and 107.9 respectively.
Yang Ge, an associate researcher at the Institute of Population and Labor Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the 21st Century Business Herald that the factors for a region with a high sex ratio are complex and also need to be observed for different age structures. However, in general, if the population of a place is relatively young, then the sex ratio of that place may be higher than the sex ratio of places with more serious aging.
At present, the imbalance in the sex ratio in China, especially in the sex ratio of marriageable age, has a more obvious impact on marriage. According to the China Statistical Yearbook (2020), in a sample survey, the ratio of unmarried men to women in Tianjin was 2:1, which also ranked first in the country.
Long-term “more women, less men” in Sichuan
In 2019, the imbalance in China’s sex ratio improved further, with the total population sex ratio of 104.64 in 2018 narrowing to 104.46 in 2019.
There are two main reasons for the improvement in the sex ratio: the continued promotion of China’s strict crackdown on “double non-permanence” and the gradual deepening of aging.
The results of the fight against “double non-permanence” can be seen in the sex ratio at birth: by the end of 2019, the sex ratio of 0-4 year olds in China was 113.62, significantly lower than the 116.85 of 5-9 year olds, showing the decline of the sex ratio at birth in China.
On the other hand, there is the deepening of aging. By the end of 2019, China’s population in the 65-69 age group already has more males than females, with a sex ratio of 95.90 in this age group. if we look at the 75-79 age group, the situation of more males than females develops further, with a sex ratio of 87.76. while in the 85-89 age group, the sex ratio has reached 70.37.
“The sex ratio of the total population is actually very much related to age. According to the law of births and deaths, there are generally more males when they are young, and when they reach the age of marriage, men and women are basically balanced, and then the older they are, the more women there are. Therefore, the more serious China’s aging is, the impact on the sex ratio of the whole population tends to be balanced.” Yang Ge said.
However, the gender ratio is not consistent from place to place.In 2019, among 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, the gender ratio in 20 places is lower than the national average, including Sichuan with a gender ratio of 96.7, ranking the lowest gender ratio in the country, and is the only region with more women than men. From the data, the four-year statistics from 2016 to 2019 show that Sichuan has a sex ratio below 100 for three years, with a clear trend of more women than men in recent years. The second-lowest ranking is Chongqing, with a sex ratio of 100.2.
It is important to note that both Sichuan and Chongqing are more serious areas of aging. According to the sample survey data of China Statistical Yearbook (2020), the proportion of elderly people over 65 years old in both Sichuan and Chongqing is over 15%, which is significantly higher than the national average and has entered a deeply aging society.
Another region of concern is Beijing. 2019, Beijing’s sex ratio was 101.6, ranking 6th from the bottom of the national sex ratio, and the sex ratio tends to be balanced. In 2018, Beijing also saw the first time that the sex ratio fell below 100.
Yang Ge pointed out that other factors affecting the gender ratio are the level of education, because the gender ratio has become more balanced among the population with higher education, and women also have more opportunities to receive high-level education. The situation in Beijing is special because on the one hand, there are more colleges and universities, and on the other hand, the overall population also has more educated people, which may lead to a more balanced sex ratio.
How does an imbalanced sex ratio impact marriage?
“The most important problem caused by a high sex ratio is the impact on marriage and childbirth, and this piece we mainly look at the sex ratio of the marriageable age population and the lower age population.” Yang Ge said.
Looking at the sex ratio of the marriageable-age population and the lower-age population, China is obviously high, but it is gradually improving.
According to the China Statistical Yearbook (2020), distinguished by age structure, as of 2019, the most imbalanced sex ratio in China is 10-14 years old and 15-19 years old, respectively, and at these two ages, the sex ratio is 119.10 and 118.39 respectively, almost a situation where 1 girl corresponds to 1.2 boys. In other words, the imbalance between men and women is most prominent among the “00” generation in China.
The imbalance between men and women is also more serious in the 20-24 age group, which has just entered the marriageable age, with a sex ratio of 114.61, compared with 106.65 in the 25-29 age group, a significant increase.
At present, the sex ratio and marriage are closely linked. According to the China Statistical Yearbook (2020), among the number of people sampled, Tianjin, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi all show a significantly higher number of unmarried men than unmarried women, while the sex ratio in all four places exceeds or reaches 107.
Yang Ge pointed out that marriage in China is not confined to one region, and a high sex ratio in one place alone does not create an obvious problem. However, if the sex ratio at birth is high in the whole country, it will cause certain social problems.
Ye Yingyang, secretary-general of the Guangdong Marriage and Family Building Association and a senior supervisory-level counselor at Mangrove, pointed out in an interview with the 21st Century Business Herald that in the past few years, she had gone to some poorer places to do research and found that it was very difficult for local men to find wives. “If we want to further balance the gender ratio and marriage, we should address it from three aspects. The first is to increase publicity on gender equality and care for women; second, more policies should be introduced in terms of employment support for women; and the third is to do a better job of regulating birth inspections.” She said.
Yang Ge also said that, in the future, China needs to continue to combat the “two illegal”, to avoid artificial selection to eliminate female babies. On the other hand, the need to pay attention to the employment of women, because despite the gradual popularization of education, but women have the responsibility of childbirth, parenting and other aspects, in fact, if purely rely on the market to choose, women’s employment imbalance will be more obvious, and therefore need policies to provide some protection.
Recent Comments