China's population and family planning programme has been
successful. Women's fertility as measured by the total fertility rate
(TFR) declined from 5.8 per woman in 1970 to 2.3 in 1990,
bringing down the annual natural growth rate from 2.6 per cent
in 1970 to 1.4 per cent in 1989 (Coale and Chen, 1987; State
Statistical Bureau of China, 1991; Gu, 1994). This is an astonishing
achievement for a major developing country. However, with the
problem of high fertility solved some new issues arising from the
rapid fertility decline have emerged that require careful study. One
of these is the rising sex ratio at birth in China. The 1990
population census reported the sex ratio at birth in China of 114
boys per 100 girls in 1989, which is much higher than the normal
sex ratio at birth which is around 106. China's high sex ratio at
birth has been the subject of considerable national and
international focus (Hull, 1990; Johansson and Nygren, 1991; Xu
and Guo, 1991; Tu, 1993; Gu and Xu, 1994). This paper reviews
the patterns and trends of the sex ratio at birth in China;
considers the immediate causes of abnormal sex ratios at birth and
their determinants, and concludes with a conceptual framework to
help understand the phenomenon and the implications for policy.