Boy-girl ratio improves, but is still among world's worst

Mainland authorities have hailed the success of efforts to curb the gender imbalance among newborns, with the ratio of boys to girls dropping for the past three years in a row. However, the latest ratio is still one of world's highest.

It is the first time the ratio has declined in three successive years since the late 1970s, when the compulsory one-child policy was implemented, the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily reported yesterday.

There were 117.78 boys born for every 100 girls last year, down from 117.94 in 2010 and 119.45 in 2009.

'These continual sex ratio declines demonstrate the achievements of our comprehensive efforts over the past few years, like the crackdown against the abuse of ultrasonic screening to determine an infant's sex and sex-selective abortion, as well as the campaigns to care for girls,' the newspaper quoted Zhang Jian, spokesman for the National Population and Family Planning Commission, as saying.

He added that the ratio was still high and the authorities would need to keep working on the problem.

Experts have warned that there will be 24 million more men of marriageable age than women by 2020.