A fact that shocked demographers, policymakers, social workers and even ordinary citizens is the drastic reduction in the gender ratio of children. It was from 1961 that gender ratio related to age was calculated. The ratio of children aged up to 6 is called child gender ratio. This used to be higher in the past, but unfortunately, it has been seriously decreasing. In the 1991-2001 period, the female-male ratio was 933:1000, which was the highest. It had increased by 6 points from the previous 927:1000. At the same time, child gender ratio went down to 927 from 945, showing a decrease of 18 points. Thus for the first time, the child gender ratio became lower than the common gender ratio.

The decrease in the child gender ratio in some States is cause for greater concern. In 6 States and in the Centrally Administered Regions, the child gender ratio is even lower than 90Q girls to 1000 boys. Punjab is the worst in this case. There it is 798:1000. It is the only state that is below 800 females for 1000 males. Just behind Punjab, there are Haryana, Chhatisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

In Uttaranchal, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, the ratio is less than 925. In Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Jammu-Kashmir, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Orissa, the ratio is above the national average of 914, but it is below 950.

The best ratio is in Kerala. But even here things are not so ne, as the ratio is just 964. Mizoram has the highest ratio in India. There it is 971:1000. Demographers and social scientist point out many reasons for the decrease in the gender ratio, with less women and more men. The most important of them are reasons of health and the attitude of the society towards females.