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THE CHANGING SEX RATIOS AT BIRTH DURING THE CIVIL WAR IN TAJIKISTAN: 1992–1997

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 July 2010

SOPHIE HOHMANN ,
SOPHIE ROCHE  and
MICHEL GARENNE
SOPHIE HOHMANN
Affiliation:
EHESS and INED, Paris, France
SOPHIE ROCHE
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle, Germany
MICHEL GARENNE
Affiliation:
IRD and Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
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Summary

Sex ratios at birth are known to change during wars or shortly after. This study investigated changes in sex ratios during the civil war that occurred in Tajikistan after the dismantling of the Soviet Union. This civil war was particularly bloody and long lasting, and had many demographic consequences. According to vital registration data, some 27,000 persons died in excess of previous trends during the civil war period (1992–1997), and total mortality was sometimes estimated to be three times higher by independent observers. Birth rates dropped markedly during the war, and sex ratios at birth increased significantly from 104.6 before the war to 106.9 during the war, to return to baseline values afterwards. The change in sex ratio is investigated according to demographic evidence (migration, delayed marriage, spouse separation), substantiated with qualitative evidence (difficulties with food supply), and compared with patterns found in Europe during World War II, as well as with recent wars in the Middle East.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 42 , Issue 6 , November 2010 , pp. 773 - 786
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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