Since the 1980s, sex imbalances at birth have been observed in many countries across the world as
the proportion of boys simultaneously increased in the child population. Over the last twenty years,
research on countries such as China, India and South Korea has demonstrated the primary role
played by sex selective abortions in the gradual rise in the sex ratio at birth above its biological level
of 104-106 male births per 100 female births. Currently, this male surplus is a reflection of serious
discrimination against women. In the forthcoming decades, it will also transform population structures
and severely affect the dynamics of marriage.
It is only recently that attention has started to focus on Europe and North America. Elevated levels
of birth masculinity have, for instance, been found among many Diaspora and immigrant communities
living in the industrialized world. The demographic situation in Southeastern Europe and in the
South Caucasus has also been the subject of interest as the gap between the number of male and
female births has been growing since the 1990s in several countries. Armenia, the focus of this report,
has witnessed a growing sex imbalance at birth. The sex ratio at birth rose immediately after
Armenia’s independence to a high level and today it remains at the very high level of 114-115 of
male births per 100 female births. This corresponds to one of the highest levels of birth masculinity
observed anywhere in the world, surpassed only by China (118) and Azerbaijan (116).