Sex ratio at birth for urban and rural areas

Previous studies show that sex ratio at birth in China's urban areas is usually higher than that of rural areas. The higher proportion of 1st births in urban areas was once taken to explain the cause for the higher sex ratio. The data of the 1982 fertility sampling survey show that the sex ratio at birth during the period from 1964 to 1981 remains higher in the urban areas (108.0) than in the rural areas (107.8). Further studies are yet needed on the differentials in sex ratios at birth between urban and rural areas and on their causes. The sex ratio in 1981 of the 29 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China's mainland was 108.5, somewhat higher than that of most countries in the world. 2 things account for the occurrence. 1 is that, biologically, certain particularities may exist in the sex ratio at birth of China's population, for the ratio varies with ethnic groups, nationalities and regions. The other is that, sociologically, female infants may be underreported in some areas and the phenomenon of infanticide left over by history still exists in some isolated cases. These surveys suggest that a certain specific characteristic does exist in the sex ratio at birth of China's urban areas, but they also contribute to the explanation of the higher sex ratio at birth of the total population of the country.     

An analysis of the fertility of Chinese women]

The 1982 census provided detailed information on fertility in China. It recorded 20,689,704 births in 1981, producing a birth rate of 2.1%, a decrease, respectively, of 43% and more than 50% in comparison with 1952 and 1963. The birth rate has varied widely over the last 30 years, from 3.6% in the early 1950's, to 1.8% in 1961, after a planned birth program was begun, to a record high of 3.7% in 1962 following the economic recovery, to 3.3% in 1970, after a gradual decline through the 1960's. By 1981 the birth rate had declined to 2.1%, clearly resulting from the intense planned fertility promotion begun in the early 1970's. In the mid- and late 50's, urban birth rate was consistently higher than rural, with the mass move to the cities at the beginning of the People's Republic. General economic development after 1957 brought simultaneous declines of both urban and rural rates, both reaching a low point in 1961. Age structure of the population also has an influence, depending on the proportion of childbearing women in the population. In 1981, the fertility of China's childbearing women was 8.3%, lower than that of the developing countries, but higher than the developed countries. By age group, the fertility rates reached 14.7% and 23.9% respectively in women between 20-24 and 25-29 years of age; the legal marriage age is 20. The fertility rate in large cities is generally lower than that of provinces. Higher educational and socio-economic level also exert an inverse influence on fertility rates; in low socio-economic areas the rate reached 3.5%, and in more advanced areas it was held to 2.2%. In all professions with the exception of agriculture, fishing, and forestry, the percentage of families with 1 child was 81.8%. Since planned fertility was implemented, the overall fertility rate has dropped from 3% to 2%. China's fertility mode has changed to that of developed countries, with high intensity between 20 and 29 years of age. Appropriate measures should be taken to lower the fertility rate in different regions.     

Tabulation and analysis of the All Women's First Marriage Table of China in 1981]

1st-marriage statistical tables must be compiled and analyzed in order to determine the marriage trends for a given period of time. Prior to the 1982 national census and the national per thousand capita survey, data for compiling regional 1st-marriage statistical tables were unavailable, perhaps due to the difficulty in obtaining the 2 types of statistics required: rate of 1st marriages and expected death rate of unmarried women. The author discusses how he derived his own 1st-marriage table from various sources, interpolated statistical values from different years, and arrived at approximated figures for 1981. In addition to comparing urban and rural Chinese populations, the author compares his figures with corresponding statistics for Japan (1975), US (1958-60), Tanzania (1973), and Kenya (1977). While the number of China's young marriages has declined, a high concentration of marriages has since appeared between the ages of 20-23 years.     

Characteristics of fertility transition in China]

Since 1949 and in particular the 1970s, China's fertility rate has undergone rapid and continuous change. This is a direct reflection of China's success in population control. The decline in China's fertility rate regulated the speed of population growth, altered the population structure, and brought population development to be in line with economic development. Data used in this article are from the National 1/1000 Random Sample of Fertility (1982), the 10% Sample of the 1982 Population Census, 1981, 1983 and 1984 statistical yearbooks, and other data from the Statistics Bureau. China's fertility rate dropped an annual average of 2.5/1000 from 1950-81. However, this time, the fertility rate fluctuated, depending on political, social and economic factors. As the nation prospered, the fertility rate remained stable and high; as China suffered severe economic losses, the fertility rate dropped. A steady decline was evident beginning in 1970 as the government began to propagandize the merits of smaller families. Between 1971-83 the average yearly rate of growth was 1.6%. The number of years a woman was fertile was similar for both urban and rural women in 1964 and 1981; moreover, in 1981 both groups showed a sharp drop in fertility between the ages of 27-35. The 1 child rate for urban women rose from 21.9% in 1964 to 86.6% in 1981. Urban women tend to be more receptive to late marriage, late births, and fewer children. This change in the 1 child rate contributed to the drop in the birth rate of 31.1/1000 in 1964 to 20.9/1000 in 1981.     

中国30年早婚变化分析--基于“六普”数据

文章使用第六次全国人口普查数据对1980年以来的早婚率进行了分析,发现30年来早婚率经历了从急剧升高到逐渐下降又到部分省份升高的过程,早婚率由女性高于男性转变为男性高于女性;总体上农村地区的早婚率高于城镇,受教育程度越低的群体中早婚发生率越高,当前男性早婚现象更多发生在部分东中部地区和西部地区,女性早婚现象更多发生在西部地区。进一步分析认为,导致早婚的根源是民间传统习俗在部分人群受教育程度低、性别比失衡、青少年性意识萌动但性教育滞后以及基层服务缺位和基层管理弱化等因素作用下的结果。     

Crime, gender, and society in India: insights from homicide data

This study presents an analysis of inter‐district variations in murder rates in India in 1981. Three significant patterns emerge. First, murder rates in India bear no significant relation with urbanization or poverty. Second, there is a negative association between literacy and criminal violence. Third, murder rates in India are highly correlated with the female‐male ratio in the population: districts with higher female‐male ratios have lower murder rates. Alternative hypotheses about the causal relationships underlying this connection between sex ratios and murder rates are scrutinized. One plausible explanation is that low female‐male ratios and high murder rates are joint symptoms of a patriarchal environment. This study also suggests that gender relations, in general, have a crucial bearing on criminal violence.     

[An analysis of regional differential mortality].]

Regional differences in mortality and life expectancy in China are explored, and the socioeconomic, cultural, and educational factors affecting such differences are considered using data from the 1982 census. The author notes that mortality, particularly infant mortality, is highest in economically underdeveloped areas, and female infant mortality is high in both rural and urban areas. It is also observed that female life expectancy is 3.26 years longer than for males in urban areas, and 1.38 years longer in rural areas.     

The problem of the aged population in China]

The situation regarding the population of China over age 60 is reviewed. From 1953 to 1980 the aged population doubled in size, with the population in urban areas growing at a faster rate than in rural areas. The author notes that declining birth and mortality rates and longer life expectancy will cause the absolute number of the aged to increase. For China, each percentage point increase in the aged means an increase of 10 million aged people. As the ratio of the aged to the rest of the society becomes increasingly larger, China will become an aged society. Tables on age distribution and life expectancy are included.     

进城还是回村？——跨省婚迁者的空间选择

在经济社会转型、人口频繁流动的条件下,婚迁由乡到城的单向迁移转变成为城乡互动的双向流动。婚迁者留在城市还是回到乡村,要取决于多种条件。本研究通过测度跨省婚迁的性别比发现,自1990年来的20年间我国省际婚迁性别比下降近一半。全国省际婚迁性别比呈现城市-城镇-乡村两端大中间小的“微笑曲线”。在婚迁的空间选择上,男性以城市为主,女性则以乡村为主。进一步分析影响婚姻迁移的因素发现,经济变量中人均GDP对总婚迁和城市婚迁呈正向影响,城镇和乡村呈负向影响;居民收入和消费状况对婚姻迁移产生正向影响,但消费的城乡差别则对其产生负向影响;人口的城乡流动与迁移以及社会变量中各因素对跨省婚迁产生正向影响,而文化变量中的各因素则形成负向影响。     

Retrospect and prospect of China's population

This discussion of the population of China covers the reproductive pattern and fertility rate, the death pattern and mortality, age-sex structure of the population, population and employment, urbanization, migration, and the aging of the population. During the 1949-83 period, China almost doubled her population with an annual natural growth rate of 19/1000. China's reproductive pattern developed from early childbearing, short birth spacing and many births to later childbearing, longer birth spacing and fewer births. China's total fertility rate (TFR) was 5.8 in 1950 and 2.1 in 1983 with an annual decrease of 3%. The annual national income grew at a rate of 7.1%, while the annual growth rate of population 1.9% from 1950-82. Consequently, the national income per capita increased from 50 yuan in 1950 to 338 yuan in 1982. The major factor responsible for the changes is the remarkable decline in the rural fertility rate. The crude death rate dropped from 27.1/1000 in 1963 to 7.1 in 1983 and the infant mortality rate from 179.4/1000 live births in 1936 to 36.6 in 1981. There was also a significant change in the causes of death. Population aged 0-14 in China account for 33.6%, 15-49 for 51.3%, and 50 and over for 15.1% of the total population. China is in the process of transition from an expansive to a stationary population. The age-dependency ratio declined from 68.6% in 1953 and 79.4% in 1964 to 62.6% in 1982. Sex ratios recorded in the 3 population censuses are 105.99 in 1953, 105.45 in 1964, and 105.46 in 1982. Employment in both collective and individual economies did not expand until 1978. Sectoral, occupational, and industrial structures of population started to change rationally with the adjustment and reform of economic management system in 1978. The strategic stress on the employment of China's economically active population should be shifted from farming to diversified economy and urban industry and commerce, from sectors of industrial-agricultural production to those of non-material production, and from expansion of employment to the rise of employment efficiency. The proportion of urban population in China accounted for 20.8% in 1982 with an annual growth rate of 4% during the 1949-82 period. The 1982 population census reveals that 94.4% of China's population resides on the southeast side of Aihui-Tengchong Line. Compared with the statistics in 1953, there was no notable change of the unbalanced population distribution on each side of the Line over the last 50 years. China is comparatively young in its population age structure. 1982 census data show that there were 49.29 million people at age 65 and over in 1982, representing 4.91% of the whole population. It is estimated from the age composition of 1982 and age-specific mortality rate of 1981 that there will be 88 million elderly persons by 2000, 150 million by 2020, and about 300 million as a maximum around 2040.     

Population statistics] as of January 1, 1998

In thousands, Thailand's total population as of January 1, 1998, was 60,763, of which 30,363 were male and 30,400 were female. 19,127 live in urban areas and 41,636 live in rural areas. 11,363 live in the northern region, 20,720 to the northeast, 8021 in the South, 13,550 centrally, and 7109 in the Bangkok metropolis. 16,375 were under age 15, 39,282 aged 15-59, and 5106 aged 60 and over. There were 15,728 women of reproductive ages 15-44. Crude birth and death rates per 1000 population were 17.3 and 6.5, respectively, with an overall natural growth rate of 1.1%. Infant mortality was 25.0/1000 live births. Male and female life expectancies at birth were 66.6 and 71.7 years, respectively. Further life expectancies at age 60 for males and females were 20.3 and 23.9 years, respectively. The rate of total fertility per woman was 1.98, with a contraceptive prevalence rate of 72.2%.     

A close look at the demography of Afghanistan

The first survey designed to allow estimates of the demographic characteristics of Afghanistan's sedentary population was conducted during the period 1972-1974. Our analysis of these data, based on recently developed techniques for handling imcomplete or inaccurate data, suggests that this population lives under conditions that are extreme when judged by modern standards. Marriage is early, especially for females, and universal. Marital fertility conforms to a pattern of natural fertility and total fertility is high. The birth rate is among the highest in the world today, and the expectation of life at birth is among the very lowest. Mortality is lower in urban areas than in rural areas, whereas total fertility is approximately the same in both. Our estimates of fertility and mortality imply stable populations which match closely the observed age distributions for both the rural and urban areas.     

Bulletin of major figures from manual tabulation of the national sample survey on fertility and birth control of China

The State Council, the State Family Planning Commission, the State Statistical Bureau, the State Planning Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Public Security of China together carried out a national sample survey on fertility and birth control in China in 1988. The survey was carried out in 30 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government. The Tibetan Autonomous Region and the Hainan Province were surveyed for the 1st time, but the results from Tibet were not collected in time for this publication. The main respondents were the married women at age 15-57, with 2,114,591 people surveyed and a sampling proportion of 1.98/1000. This article describes the survey and its results according to birth rate, parity composition, and rural-urban fertility differences. Birth rates, mortality rates, and natural increase rates from high to low orders were tabulated for: urban areas, farms, towns, rural townships, and suburban townships. With the first 1/2 of 1988 birth rates tabulated, it was estimated that the total number of births in China will be less than in 1987. In 1987, the rate of 3rd or higher parity birth was below 5% in 6 provinces and municipalities, but 10 provinces and autonomous regions were over 20%. Fertility rates showed considerable disparity depending on the locational demographics (e.g. birth rates in urban areas were 14.3/1000 yet birth rates were 24.3/1000 in suburban townships).     

Fertility survey in the rural area of Henan province]

The population of Henan Province is 72,850,000, 92% of whom live in villages. From July 12 to August 11, 1981, a fertility survey was taken of 20 communes and 31 work brigades in the counties of Fugou, Shancai, and Dengfeng, in which 38,168 people and 5700 fertility registration forms were studied. In 1980, 15% of the 3 counties' population were women aged 18-49, 80% of whom were married. The birth rate was 134.56/1000, of which the rate for married women was 172.36/1000. A random sampling from Shancai of 18-49 year old women showed an average of 2.3 children per couple. The factors influencing rural fertility are economic, social, ideological, and cultural. The economic system of distribution according to work has actually encouraged population growth because in rural areas where the standard of living is low larger families with more workers have greater incomes than smaller families with fewer workers. Early marriage and early births are encouraged under this system, as evidenced by findings in Fugou County. The survey also found that in the 3 counties, virtually everyone marries, women who work tend to work in the village close to home, high illiteracy is prevalent, and traditional attitudes of favoring males over females were all factors contributing to early and frequent births. In order to lower rural birth rates, rural economy should be developed, old attitudes and habits should be changed, and literacy should be increased.     

Temporal and spatial trends in the sex ratio at birth in Greece, 1960–2006: exploring potential environmental factors

Numerous studies have shown that the sex ratio at birth, defined as the relative number of male and female births, may be dramatically lower for small cohorts with high chemical exposures. Meanwhile, reports from different countries have shown recent declines in male births for the general population, perhaps implicating environmental factors. The sex ratio at birth has, therefore, been suggested by some as a sentinel environmental health indicator. This paper examines variation observed in sex ratio at birth in Greece since 1960. The analysis incorporates a number of demographic parameters including the age and nationality of the mother, partnership status and birth order, as well as urbanisation level. The latter is considered an indirect indicator of potential environmental incidence. Our main finding is that the sex ratio in Greece has experienced a slight, albeit statistically significant, downward trend, especially since 1980. Further, this decline is not attributable to changing demographics. Geographical differentiations were found to be quite significant: the sex ratio is significantly higher in rural areas compared to urban centres or Greater Athens, and this difference is increasing over time. We offer a preliminary interpretation suggesting that these temporal and spatial trends may, at least partly, be attributed to chemicals’ exposure due to higher levels of indoor and outdoor air pollution and different consumption habits encountered in urban settings. We argue that such possibilities warrant further research with explicit measures of exposure.

中国老年贫困人口特征分析

利用中国老龄科研中心于2000年12月组织的“中国城乡老年人口一次性抽样调查”的原始数据,在得到中国老年贫困人口规模估计的基础上,将总体规模按照老年人的人口、社会、经济、健康等多种特征,对老年贫困问题进行描述分析。通过分析发现:在中国的老年人口中,女性贫困人口大大多于男性;高龄老年人的贫困比例高于低龄老人贫困的比例。受教育程度低的老年人,遭受贫困的风险明显高于受教育程度高的老年人;农村老年人贫困的比例高于城市老年人贫困的比例。     

Population statistics] as of January 1, 1997

In thousands, Thailand's total population as of January 1, 1997, was 60,103, of which 30,034 were male and 30,069 were female. 18,981 live in urban areas and 41,122 live in rural areas. 12,074 live in the northern region, 19,568 to the northeast, 7524 in the South, 13,039 centrally, and 7898 in the Bangkok metropolis. 16,197 were under age 15, 38,856 aged 15-59, and 5050 aged 60 and over. There were 15,558 women of reproductive ages 15-44. Crude birth and death rates per 1000 population were 15.6 and 5.0, respectively, with an overall natural growth rate of 1.1%. Infant mortality was 25.0/1000 live births. Male and female life expectancies at birth were 66.6 and 71.7 years, respectively. Further life expectancies at age 60 for males and females were 18.8 and 22.0 years, respectively. The rate of total fertility per woman was 1.95, with a contraceptive prevalence rate of 75.2% and an anticipated population of 70,627 in the year 2012.     

Preliminary analysis of population distribution in Beijing, Tianjin, and Tangshan]

The author analyzes population distribution in Beijing, Tianjin, and Tangshan, China. According to the author, the population distribution of these areas is characterized first by high population density. The forms of distribution are found to be many and varied: network distribution, cluster distribution, star distribution, bar distribution, and point distribution in rural residential areas. The ratio of urban population to rural population is high, but the distribution is concentrated. The factors affecting population distribution are natural environment, economic development, and historical heritage.     

Population statistics] as of July 1, 1996

In thousands, Thailand's total population as of July 1, 1996, was 59,781, of which 29,873 were male and 29,908 were female. 18,879 live in urban areas and 40,902 live in rural areas. 12,009 live in the northern region, 19,464 to the northeast, 7484 in the South, 12,969 centrally, and 7855 in the Bangkok metropolis. 17,217 were under age 15, 38,200 aged 15-59, and 4364 aged 60 and over. There were 15,421 women of reproductive ages 15-44. Crude birth and death rates per 1000 population were 15.6 and 5.0, respectively, with an overall natural growth rate of 1.1%. Infant mortality was 29.0 per 1000 live births. Male and female life expectancies at birth were 66.6 and 71.7 years, respectively. Further life expectancies at age 60 for males and females were 18.8 and 22.0 years, respectively. The rate of total fertility per woman was 1.95 with a contraceptive prevalence rate of 74.0% and an anticipated population of 70,835 in the year 2012.     

Population statistics] as of July 1, 1995

In thousands, Thailand's total population as of July 1, 1995, was 59,450, of which 29,707 were male and 29,743 were female. 18,774 live in urban areas and 40,676 live in rural areas. 11,942 live in the northern region, 19,356 to the northeast, 7443 in the South, 12,897 centrally, and 7812 in the Bangkok metropolis. 17,122 were under age 15, 37,988 aged 15-59, and 4340 aged 60 and over. There were 15,347 women of reproductive ages 15-44. Crude birth and death rates per 1000 population were 17.6 and 5.2, respectively, with an overall natural growth rate of 1.2%. Infant mortality was 30.8 per 1000 live births. Male and female life expectancies at birth were 66.6 and 71.7 years, respectively. Further life expectancies at age 60 for males and females were 18.8 and 22.0 years, respectively. The rate of total fertility per woman was 1.95 with a contraceptive prevalence rate of 74.0% and an anticipated population of 71,860 in the year 2012.