Skewed birth ratios raise fears of social crisis in Vietnam

Vietnam could experience a major social crisis as a result of a skewed birth rate. Traditionally and for historical reasons Vietnamese women have been more numerous than men but in the last few years this trend has been reversed causing dangerous changes whose consequences can now be seen in countries like China and India.

The General Statistics Office of Vietnam sounded the alarm bell in a recently released study that indicated that "in 2007 the male-to-female ratio at birth was 112 to 100," up from 110 to 100 a year before and much higher than the average world sex ratio which stands at about 103-105 to 100. The study also showed that the skewed sex ratio is higher in some areas of the country, most notably in the north-west mountain regions.

One basic reason for this trend is the traditional preference for boys which has been aggravated by the possibility now available for sex selection.

Contraception and targeted pregnancies allow parents to have baby boys and abort the foetus if it is that of a baby girl.

If left unchecked...