If the situation does not change, the gender imbalance ratio will be more than 10%, said Mr Tan.
The imbalance is caused by the fact that many Vietnamese still prefer to have a son rather than daughter. Department statistics show the gender imbalance ratio of Vietnam has increased rapidly over the past five years.
A direct and proximate cause of the imbalance is that many families have abused medical technology to determine the gender of their unborn child and choose to continue the pregnancy only if they are carrying a child of the preferred gender.
The imbalance gender results in serious consequences such as increasing woman and girl trafficking and domestic violence. It also may lead to the disintegration of family structures as a significant proportion of men will have to marry late and many may not be able to marry at all.