Study: Nearly 5 Mln Fewer Girls to Be Born Worldwide Over Next 10 Years

By Staff, Agencies

An estimated 4.7 million fewer girls are expected to be born globally in the next 10 years because of gender-selective practices in countries with a cultural preference for male offspring, research showed on Tuesday.

The research suggested that the projected shortfall in the number of girls being born will lead to a surplus of young men in around a third of the global population by 2030.

Writing in the BMJ medical journal, the research’s authors suggested the trend could lead to a decrease in social cohesion and a "marriage squeeze" in affected countries.

Gender-selective abortions have been on the rise for the past 40 years in countries throughout southeast Europe along with south and east Asia, with as-yet undetermined demographic impacts.

To model what short- and long-term effect gender selection will have on societies, an international team of researchers analyzed data from more than three billion births over the last 50 years.

They focused on 12 countries where the male-to-female ratio had increased since 1970 and another 17 where that ratio was at risk of increasing due to social or cultural trends.

The authors of the new study called for better data collection of such practices in order to stamp them out, as well as wider education initiatives.

"A broader objective relates to the need to influence gender norms which lie at the core of harmful practices such as prenatal sex selection," they wrote.