• Parents abort girl fetuses in favor of possible future sons under 'societal expectations that attribute greater economic, social and religious value to boys,' says UNFPA Asia and the Pacific
• Most significant demographic consequence is 'shortage of eligible brides,' says Cornell professor Alaka Basu

ISTANBUL

Globally, more than 140 million girls are considered “missing” as a result of prenatal gender selection against girls, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The majority – around 100 million – are “missing” in Asia, a figure first highlighted in 1990 by Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen.

The UNFPA defines the sex ratio at birth as the number of boys born per 100 girls, typically between 104 and 106. But in several Asian countries, this balance has shifted sharply.

Vietnam’s sex ratio at birth rose from 109.8 boys per 100 girls in 2006 to 111.4 in 2014 and 112 in 2023.

Authorities have warned that “if no strong interventions are taken,” the country could face “a surplus of 1.5 million men aged 15 to 49 by 2039, rising to 2.5 million by 2059.”

To curb prenatal gender selection, Hanoi has proposed tougher financial penalties for individuals or institutions that disclose or assist in determining a fetus’s sex.-

However, Alaka Basu, professor of development sociology at Cornell University, doubts fines alone will solve the problem.

“Parents will find other routes to satisfy their desire for more sons than daughters,” she said, calling instead for a combination of social, economic and legal reforms to tackle the root causes.

While prenatal gender selection remains widespread across parts of Asia, several countries – including China, South Korea and India – have made notable progress since the early 2000s. The UNFPA told Anadolu that these improvements stem from policy interventions, public awareness efforts and shifting social norms.

China, for example, narrowed its sex ratio at birth from 121.2 in 2010 to 111.3 in 2020 through a multi-pronged approach that combined legal enforcement, public education and targeted welfare programs alongside broader economic development.

Reasons for the practice

Experts say that addressing son preference requires understanding its social, economic and psychological roots.

Expectant parents abort their girl fetuses in favor of possible future sons under “societal expectations that attribute greater economic, social and religious value to boys,” according to the UNFPA.

Sons are seen as “future providers and inheritors, while daughters are seen as a financial liability, linked to dowry practices or perceived as a loss to the natal family,” it added.

Basu explained that the spread of prenatal sex-determination technology and abortion access – initially introduced to help manage population growth – has made such selective practices easier.

These cultural pressures can also harm adult women, who may face coercion to produce male children, risking their health and autonomy, or be forced into early marriages that curtail their education and economic prospects.

“Fortunately,” Basu noted, “all these imperatives” of economic security, social prestige and continuation of lineage “seem to be becoming less important.”

She pointed to South Korea and India as examples where parents increasingly value daughters, even as fertility rates decline.

Too many men

The skewed sex ratio has far-reaching demographic, economic and social consequences.

In China, for instance, there are around 30 million more men than women within its population of 1.4 billion people.

“The most significant demographic consequence of a gender imbalance is the shortage of eligible brides for the excess men in society,” said Basu.

With fewer women, she added, there are also “fewer potential mothers,” which reduces the total number of births and slows population growth.

This “marriage squeeze” disproportionately affects rural and lower-income men, leading to increased social unrest, gender-based violence and human trafficking. Women and girls from poorer regions are often coerced into marriages to meet the unmet demand for partners, according to the UNFPA.

Studies also show that unmarried men face higher mortality rates and poorer health outcomes on average compared with married men.

Roadmap for the future

Experts agree that addressing gender selection requires a combination of policy reform, education and long-term investment in gender equality.

Measures include improving access to education and employment for girls, expanding social protections for families with daughters, and integrating gender equality across all development sectors.

Bans on fetal sex determination, accountability mechanisms, and public awareness campaigns must be coupled with social change, they say.

Policies aiming to change the outlook of people, “by encouraging the education and employment of girls, by reducing parental economic or social dependence on their children – through social security, for example – and through public messages about the importance of daughters, may have helped countries like Korea and India in the last two decades,” said Basu, urging other nations to adopt similar approaches more aggressively.

The UNFPA added that China’s experience shows change is possible – and offers lessons that other countries in the region can adapt to close the gender gap.