Boys pulling away from girls in Vietnam
The latest report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) released on October 15 warns that the sex ratio at birth is becoming imbalanced in Vietnam.
One day before Vietnam was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, UNFPA in Vietnam praised Vietnam’s achievement in controlling birth.
According to the report, namely “Population Growth in Vietnam, What the Data from 2006 Can Tell Us”, fertility continues to decline in Vietnam. The total fertility rate now stands at 2.09 children per woman, which is just below the level of replacement.
A major contributor to the decline in fertility is the use of contraception. Some 78% of married women between the ages of 15 and 49 reported that they were using some form of contraception: 67% were using a modern method and 11% a traditional method. These proportions represent a slight increase over previous years.
But because the crude death rate has been under-estimated, the population growth rate has been ‘over-estimated’. Adjusting for this lower CDR estimate gives a true annual growth rate at below 1 percent, the report says.
According to UNFPA, the sex ratio at birth (the number of boys born to every 100 girls) is becoming imbalanced in Vietnam. Reasons for this include pressure to adhere to the two-child policy coupled with a preference for sons and the ready availability of ultrasound and abortion.
The national sex ratio at birth as reported in the 2006 survey was 110 boys to every 100 girls, which slightly exceeds the expected ratio of 105-107 boys to every 100 girls.
VietnamNet Bridge - October 18, 2007.
|