Sudden Increase in Sex Ratio in Caucasian Countries. Why and How?

France Meslé, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)
Jacques Vallin, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)
Irina Badurashvili, Georgian Centre of Population Research

During the 90s, sex ratio at birth has considerably increased in the three Caucasian countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. In the year 2000, it ranged from 1.15 (Azerbaijan) to 1.20 (Armenia). There are different possible explanations for this increase. It may be due to a deterioration of birth registration which would affect more girls than boys but it could also be related to the expansion of selective abortion in favour of males. On the basis of recent fertility surveys in the three countries, it is clearly a real phenomenon. Patterns in parity progression ratio show significant preference for males and special analysis of some questions indirectly evidence that selective abortion appears to be the way to obtain children of the desired sex. It is also clear that most of the global effect is due to the third birth.