China's One-Child Policy Results In 32M More Boys Than Girls Under Age 20, Study Finds

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Public Health;  Abortion
Article Date: 15 Apr 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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China's one-child-per-family policy has resulted in 32 million more boys than girls younger than age 20 in the country, which has created "an imminent generation of excess men," according to a study published Friday on BMJ's Web site, the New York Times reports.

For the report, Wei Xingzhu, a Zhejiang Normal University professor; Li Lu, a Zhejiang University professor; and Therese Hesketh, a University College London lecturer, analyzed data from a 2005 Chinese census. Researchers found that the gender disparity was widest among children ages one to four, "a sign that the greatest imbalances among the adult population lie ahead," according to the Times. In addition, researchers found more distortion in provinces that allow rural couples to have a second child if the first is a girl, or in cases of hardship. There were 143 boys for every 100 girls among children who were the second child in their families (LaFraniere, New York Times, 4/11). In industrialized countries, there are 107 male births for every 100 female births (Olesen, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 4/10). According to the report, as a result of the policy, China increasingly will have more men than women of reproductive age. The researchers wrote, "Nothing can be done now to prevent this."

According to the researchers, the disparity appears to be wider in China than in any other country, likely because of the country's one-child policy, which has contributed to the Chinese cultural preference for male children. The researchers wrote, "Sex-selective abortion accounts for almost all the excess males" (New York Times, 4/11). According to the researchers, the disparity also could lead to increasing crime by young men who are unable to find female partners. Hesketh said, "If you've got highly sexed young men, there is a concern that they will all get together and, with high levels of testosterone, there may be a real risk, that they will go out and commit crimes" (AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 4/10).

The researchers concluded that the Chinese government is openly concerned "about the consequences of large numbers of excess men for social stability and security." They added that "although some imaginative and extreme solutions have been suggested," China will have too many men for at least a generation. According to the researchers, enforcing the ban against sex-selective abortions could help reduce the disparity in the future (New York Times, 4/11).

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