THE sex ratio at birth in the city is 107:100 and is still widening, even though it is already at the threshold of the natural range 103-107:100, the Shanghai Morning Post has reported.

　　The sex ratio at birth means the number of male babies born each year relative to every 100 female babies.

　　Presently, the ratio is normal among people with registered residence of Shanghai. But the ratio among babies born to migrant people is out of the normal range.

　　There are over 3.8 million migrant people who have been living in the city for over half a year, and among them the sex ratio at birth is over 120:100.

　　In 2003, there were 83,000 babies born in Shanghai, of which the migrant population was responsible for 26,000, accounting for about one third of the total.

　　"An excessive sex ratio at birth is becoming a serious social problem," said Zhou Haiwang, deputy director of the Institute of Population & Development Studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

　　The ratio in the country - especially in most rural regions - is also approaching 120:100. It is estimated that a comparatively natural ratio of below 110:100 is only to be found in seven provinces and autonomous regions: Heilongjiang, Qinghai, Guizhou, Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Ningxia and Xinjiang. However, the proportions in other regions, whose combined populations accounts for 90 per cent of the nation's total, is far higher than the normal ratio.

　　"This means that in 20 years the country will see over 30 million male adults who are unable to find a wife," Zhou said.

　　The expert pointed out that the unenlightened traditional attitude to gender should be held responsible for the disparity.

　　To solve the problem, Zhou suggested medical staff should be prevented from helping couples who are expecting baby girls from having abortions.

　　The central government has stipulated that it is forbidden to use ultrasound to identify the sex of baby. But with the aim of making additional profits, some hospitals still provide this service. Zhou said the government should strengthen the crackdown against it.

　　Peng Xizhe, director of the Population Institute of Fudan University, said the city should take a variety of measures in regards to both medical treatment and the job market to adjust and change the dangerous situation. Xiao Xu