The current gender ratio at birth in the city is 114.4 boys to100 girls, against the country average of 112.2 boys to 100 girls. Since 2009, the ratio in Hanoi has fluctuated between 114-118 boys to 100 girls, while the country ratio has changed from 106.2 boys to 100 girls- to 112.2 boys to 100 girls.
In Hanoi, the number of births has declined but the rate of third children is still high (accounting for 7.53 percent of total births). The desire of more and more two-girl families for a son to maintain the continuity of the family line is the main cause for the sex imbalance in Hanoi, according to the official.
