SEX RATIO AT BIRTH (SRB): FINDINGS OF THE 1/4/2014
INTERCENSAL POPULATION AND HOUSING SURVEY
DEPARTMENT OF POPULATION AND LABOR STATISTICS
GENERAL OFFICE OF STATISTICS (GSO)
1. SITUATION OF FERTILITY RATE AND SRB
• Fertility rate: nationwide and by region/area
• SRB: nationwide and by region/area
VIETNAM’S TOTAL FERTILITY RATE (TFR) IN 2009-2014
• TFR is defined as the average number of live births that would be born to a women by the time she
ended childbearing if she were to pass through all her childbearing years conforming to the age-specific
fertility rates of the reference period (usually 12 months prior to the time point of the survey)
(calculated for women aged 15-49)
2.03 2.00 1.99 2.05
2.10 2.09
1.81 1.77
1.70
1.80 1.86 1.85
2.14 2.11 2.12 2.17
2.21 2.21
1.50
1.60
1.70
1.80
1.90
2.00
2.10
2.20
2.30
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Nationwide Urban Rural Replacement-level fertility
TFR
• In recent years, the TFR of Vietnam has been relatively stable. The
nationwide TFR is equivalent to the replacement level, i.e. 2.1
children per women.
• TFR in urban areas fluctuated much more than that in rural areas.
• However, TFR in urban areas was always below the replacement
level, while that in rural areas was above the replacement level
(asymptotic with the replacement level).
TFR BY SOCIO-ECONOMIC REGION IN 2009-2014
• TFR varied among regions.
• Northern Midlands and
Mountains had the highest
TFR in the country in 2014.
• Southeast and Mekong
River Delta had the lowest
TFR, which was below the
replacement level.
TFR BY REGION
• In Northern Midlands and Mountains, Red River Delta, North and South Central
Coast, the TFR was above the replacement level and fluctuated much recently.
• In Central Highlands, the TFR was above the replacement level, however it
tended to decrease and be stabilized in recent years.
• Southeast and Mekong River Delta,
• Southeast and Mekong River Delta had the lowest TFR which was below the
replacement level, however it fluctuated between years - especially in Southeast.
• SRB is the number of boys being born per 100 girls during the
survey year (12 months)
• It reflects the predominance of boys over girls.
SRB IN VIETNAM, 1999, 2009-2014
107
110.5 111.2
111.9 112.3
113.8
111.2
112.8 112.2
1999 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
• The SRB was increased between
the population and housing
censuses 1999, 2009 and 2013.
• There were signs of decline in
2014 - 2016.
SRB BY URBAN/RURAL AREA AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC ZONE, 2009 AND 2014
• Red River Delta had the highest
SRB in the country which tended
to increase during 2009-2014.
• In some regions, the SRB has
been declined to a balanced level.
• It is notable that the SRB in
Northern Midlands and
Mountains and Mekong River
Delta increased quickly.
SRB IN VIETNAM OVER 5 YEARS OF 2009-2014
• SRB in Vietnam tends to increase recently. However, this trend does not happen
the same way in all regions/areas
• SRB in urban areas decreased while that in rural area increased.
• In Northern Midlands and Mountains, Red River Delta, Central Highlands and
Mekong River Delta, the SRB tended to increase – especially in Northern
Midlands and Mountains and Mekong River Delta, from 108.5 and 109.9 to 116.1
and 114.1 respectively.
• In North and South Central Coast, Southeast, the SRB decreased – especially in
North and South Central Coast, from 109.7 to 105.5.
SRB BY PROVINCE/CITY IN 2014
SRB < 107.0
(26 provinces/cities)
Bình Thuận; Hậu Giang; Kon Tum; Ninh Thuận; Khánh Hoà; Quảng
Nam; Lâm Đồng; Bình Phước; Sóc Trăng; Quảng Ngãi; Phú Yên; Cà
Mau; Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu; Vĩnh Long; TP Hồ Chí Minh. (15 provinces)
Tuyên Quang; Ninh Bình; Hà Tĩnh; Thừa Thiên Huế; Vĩnh Phúc; Hà
Nam; Hải Phòng; Cao Bằng; Quảng Trị; Thanh Hoá; Bắc Kạn. (11
provinces)
107.0 <= SRB <= 111.0
(9 provinces/cities)
Gia Lai; Bình Dương. (02 provinces)
Phú Thọ; An Giang; Quảng Bình; Đà Nẵng; Nam Định; Hoà Bình; Lai
Châu. (07 provinces)
SRB >= 111.0
(28 provinces)
Long An; Đắk Lắk; Cần Thơ; Đồng Nai; Bình Định; Tây Ninh; Trà Vinh;
Bạc Liêu; Kiên Giang; Tiền Giang; Đồng Tháp; Bến Tre; Đắk Nông.
(13 provinces)
Bắc Giang; Lào Cai; Điện Biên; Lạng Sơn; Hà Giang; Thái Nguyên;
Hưng Yên; Nghệ An; Thái Bình; Hà Nội; Yên Bái; Bắc Ninh; Hải
Dương; Quảng Ninh; Sơn La. (15 provinces)
SRB BY LEVEL OF EDUCATION OF MOTHERS, 2010-2014
IlliteratePrimary
school
Lower
secondary
school
Upper
secondary
school
Vocational
andprofessiona
l training
University
and higher
SRB 106.6 111.0 111.8 113.0 111.7 114.6
106.6
111.0
111.8
113.0
111.7
114.6
102.0
104.0
106.0
108.0
110.0
112.0
114.0
116.0
SRB by level of education
0-2 3-5 6-8 9-10 12+
SRB 105.3 108.1 111.1 112.3 113.0
105.3
108.1
111.1
112.3 113.0
100.0
102.0
104.0
106.0
108.0
110.0
112.0
114.0
SRB by number of years at school
SRB AND LEVEL OF EDUCATION
• The higher the mother’s level of education was, the higher SRB was, from
106 to 111 in those completing primary school, 113 in those completing
upper secondary school and 115 in those completing university or higher.
• SRB in mothers going to school for 3 years was equal to the natural one,
i.e.. 105
• However, SRB increased to 108, 111 and 112 in mothers going to school
for more years, with the highest (113) belongs to mothers with ≥12 years
at school.
SRB BY ORDER OF THE BIRTH, 2010-2014
1 2 3+
SRB 110.2 108.1 120.2
110.2
108.1
120.2
102
104
106
108
110
112
114
116
118
120
122
• SRB was high in the 1st birth.
• Especially, it increased in the
3rd birth.
SRB BY ORDER OF THE BIRTH AND SEX OF THE PREVIOUS BIRTH, VIETNAM 2010-2014
• SRB in the 1st birth and 2nd
birth when the family did not
have a son was similar.
• SRB in the 2nd birth and 3rd
birth when the family already
had a son was similar.
• Especially, imbalance occurred
in the 3rd birth if the family did
not have a son.
SRB BY ORDER OF THE BIRTH
• There were interventions to enable sex selection right from the 1st
birth.
• In the 2nd birth, statistics show that the pressure for a boy
decreased, hence SRB was close to the natural one.
• In the 3rd birth, the pressure for a boy became the strongest. SRB
increased sharply (120.2 boys/100 girls), especially in couples
without a son (14.4 boys/100 girls).
2. DETERMINANTS OF SRB
Prenatal sex
selection
Sex preference
(needs)
Sex selection technology (supply) Reduced
fertility rate (pressure)
DETERMINANTS
• Sex preference (cultural factor): Vietnamese tradition and customs have
created boy preference.
• Sex selection technology (technical factor): In the world's development
trend, medical techniques and technology are increasingly improved, thus
the needs of the society are better met.
• Reduced fertility (demographic factor): The tendency of reduced fertility is
the result of family planning programs and policies and is also an obvious
trend of the development process. This directly affects the decision of
couples on the number of children they would like to have.
3. CONCLUSIONS
• In recent years, SRB tends to increase; however, we can not conclude
whether it will continue to increase in the coming years.
• There are signs that SRB can potentially be slowed down or decreased in
the future.
• SRB among regions varies depending on demographic and development
factors of each region.
4. RECOMMENDATIONS
• To strengthen efforts in monitoring SRB every year for timely actions. In
particular, it is necessary to enhance the monitoring and synthesis of birth
registration records for the most updated data.
• To continue and further promote efforts in communication on impact of
SRB imbalance.
• To pay attention to the variations and differences among regions, areas
and target groups in order to have timely and relevant policies and
programs of action.
THANK YOU.