In general, a decline in mortality is accompanied by changes in the
differentials by sex, from a situation in which, depending on age, there
is an excess in the mortality rate among males or among females to a
situation in which females are at an advantage at every age. The pace
ofchange, however, varies by age and the social context. Thus, in a very
large part ofthe developing world, there is still an excess mortality rate
among women at certain ages, particularly among girls aged 1-4 years.
How did this excess female child mortality evolve from the 1970s
to the 1980s, during a period when mortality declined significantly? Is
there a relationship between the intensity ofthe phenomenon and levels
ofmortality or certain social development indicators? These are some
ofthe questions which the article discusses on the basis ofreliable and
comparable data taken from approximately 60 countries.
It appears that the problem is present in all regions and in a large
majority of countries: after the first year oflife, the risks ofmortality
for girls are greater than those for boys. Moreover, when detailed data
are available, it can be shown that this excess mortality appears as early
as the first months of life, while the child is still totally dependent on
the mother. From the 1970s to the 1980s excess female child mortality
declined only slightly.
For the 1970s and 1980s, no relationship between the intensity of
the phenomenon and levels ofmortality is observed. There is undoubtedly
a general trend (on the average, the phenomenon is less frequentand less significant in countries with low mortality), but the disappearance
of excess female child mortality occurs only at very low levels of
mortality.
Furthermore, the problem does not appear to be linked to the level
of social and educational development attained by countries and regions.
There is no very significant statistical relationship between sex
differentials in child mortality and various socio-economic development
indicators, with the exception, perhaps, of education.