It has been estimated that 2.3-4.3 million Vietnamese men will be unable to find a wife in the next ten years due to the country’s gender imbalance.

The gender imbalance was forecast more than 10 years ago, and now the situation has become more serious.

Gender imbalance encourages human trafficking
 

Girl to boy ratio

A recent survey on nearly 2,900 men showed that up to 46% of them want to have at least one son, meanwhile, just 3.5% like a daughter.

Duong Quoc Trong, Head of the General Department of Population and Family Planning under the Ministry of Health, said Vietnam’s gender imbalance has been growing since 2006, from just 109 boys to 100 girls to the current 112.3 boys to 100 girls and the ratio is forecast to continue rising.

Experts warned that if measures were not taken quickly, in 15-20 years 2.3-4.3 million men in Vietnam will be unable to find a Vietnamese wife.

The imbalance is higher in areas which have better economic conditions and in households with higher income and better access to medical care.

“Importing” brides not easy

Professor Nguyen Dinh Cu, Former Head of the Institute for Population and Social Affairs, under National Economics University of Hanoi said, “It is worrying that the imbalance is increasing in Vietnam in the context of many regional countries facing the same problem. Annually, South Korea and China have to “import” brides, but this still fails to meet local men of a mature age.”

According to experts, this "importing" idea will not work in Vietnam, as neighboring countries, such as Laos, Cambodia the Philippines will not be able to fulfill the "demand".

Mandeep K.O’Brien, Acting Chief Representative of United Nations Population Fund in Vietnam, said without active measures, Vietnam would have to witness a crisis point.

“The gender imbalance is among causes leading to the rise in kidnapping and human trafficking. Women will become a target for this trade," Trong said.