Gender imbalance may send some 4.3 million Vietnamese men unable to find wives in the future, a recent meeting in Ho Chi Minh City was told.
According to the HCMC Population and Family Planning Department, the country has a birth rate of 112 boys for every 100 girls. The ratio is 109/100 in Ho Chi Minh City.
But the imbalance could worsen in future if no preventive measures are applied, the department said.
It is estimated some 4.3 million Vietnamese men will be unable to find wives in the next 20-30 years, the meeting heard.
The department also said the abortion rate in Ho Chi Minh City had tripled that of the whole country.
Although ultrasound-assisted sex selection has been outlawed since 2003, the ban has not increased the rate of girls being born in Vietnam.
In Vietnam, parents try to use sex-selection methods to have baby boys. The methods, outlined in books, newspapers and on the internet, violate the government’s population policies designed to minimize the gender imbalance.
The Vietnamese preference for boys dates back to ancient times when Confucianism was a strong influence. Confucianism taught 10 girls is not as worthy as one boy and that a woman’s duty is to have a son.
Experts said Vietnamese people preferred male children who they believed would support them in their old age.
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