Gender Imbalance of Birth Exacerbates Again

Gender Imbalance of Birth Exacerbates Again. September. 10, 2004 21:53. by Jae-Dong Yu Ji-Won Jun jarrett@donga.com podragon@donga.com.

The birth gender ratio, which was skewed toward males but which has been steadily improved through the 1990s, began to rise again. Coupled with a low birth rate as a result of the economic recession, the imbalance has reportedly deteriorated. The government should take action, analysts assert.

A recent survey by Dong-A, in cooperation with the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHSA), on the changes in the gender ratio by region and birth in the past 10 years found worsening results.

The birth gender ratio has begun heading south with a 115.2 mark in 1993. It fell to as low as 108.24 in 1997, but began to rise again in 1998 following the foreign exchange reserve meltdown. It rose to 110.03 in 2002.

Apart from Busan and some other regions, the upward trend is commonly found nationwide.

The birth gender ratio is the number of boys against the number of girl as a benchmark of 100. Population scholars hold 105 or 106 as normal.

“The World Fact Book” published by the CIA of the U.S. in December of last year ranks Korea’s ratio as third out of 233 countries, trailing Guam and Taiwan.

In terms of the order of child births, the gender ratio of third children, one the most important gauges of the level of male preference, was a staggering 202.1 in 1993. It fell drastically to 133.5 in 1997, but climbed back to 140.0 in 2004.

The ratio of second children fell to a near normal level of 106.3 in 1997 from 114.7 in 1993. However, it rebounded to 107.3.

It is analyzed that the reason why the ratio, which had fallen since 1993, began to rise again before reaching the normal level lies with the economic recession since the foreign exchange meltdown.

The falling birth rate, coupled with the public preference for males, is raising the gender ratio, analysts said.

In 1998, when the gender birth ratio began to rebound amid the foreign exchange crisis, the overall birthrate was 1.4, down by 0.2 from a year earlier.

“The rebound in the gender ratio was possible because they eschewed new births due to the economic recession. But they did so yet with strong preference for boys,” said Kim Seung-geun, social policy director at the KIHSA. “Unlike in the past, they chose the gender of a second or third child at the time of insemination by detecting the gender during the pregnancy.”