'Preference for Sons' is a Thing of the Past... Last Year Male Births Hit Record Low

"Son Preference Disappeared"... Last Year's Birth Sex Ratio 104.9

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The number of male births fell to an all-time low last year.

According to the provisional results of the 2020 Population Trends Survey on births and deaths by Statistics Korea, the sex ratio at birth last year was 104.9. The sex ratio at birth refers to the number of male births per 100 female births, meaning that for every 100 girls born last year, there were 104.9 boys.

This is the midpoint of the normal range of sex ratio at birth (103?107) as determined by Statistics Korea. It has reached the natural sex ratio observed when a fertilized child is born without intervention.

Last year’s proportion of male births recorded the lowest figure since Statistics Korea began holding related data in 1990. The sex ratio at birth has gradually declined from 116.5 in 1990, to 110.1 in 2000, 106.9 in 2010, and 104.9 in 2020. It first entered the normal range at 106.2 in 2007 and has since converged toward the middle of that range.

A dramatic change was also observed in the sex ratio for third-born children and beyond. While the proportion of naturally born children was high up to the second child, there was a strong preference for male children for the third child and beyond, so-called 'to continue the family line.' The sex ratio at birth for third-born children and beyond was 209.7 in 1993. However, this ratio also sharply declined from the mid-1990s, recording 143.6 in 2000, 110.9 in 2010, and dropping to 106.7 in 2020. In 2019, for the first time, the sex ratio for third-born children and beyond was 103.2, lower than the overall sex ratio at birth of 105.5.

The near alignment of the overall sex ratio at birth and the sex ratio for third-born children and beyond within the normal range is analyzed as indicating the disappearance of son preference. This also signifies the advent of a female-majority society. In its 2017?2047 future population special projection released in 2018, Statistics Korea predicted that a female-majority society would begin in 2029. It forecasted that the sex ratio, meaning the number of males per 100 females, would fall below 100 for the first time at 99.9 in 2029. Statistics Korea expects the sex ratio to decline every year without exception through the final projection year of 2047 (98.3).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.