South Asia

The male-dominant sex ratios in the age group above sixty-five in some South Asian countries are counter to the global norm of female-dominant sex ratios among older age groups. Male-dominant sex ratios were observed in 2000 for those age sixty-five and above in Bangladesh and India (see Table 5). This indicates a cumulative female mortality disadvantage over the life course, though age-specific death rates are higher for men than for women in India after about age thirty-five. Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka exhibit ‘‘normal’’ female-dominant sex ratios among the elderly age group. By 2025 only Bangladesh is projected to have a male-dominant ratio. Other countries’ ratios are expected to decline steeply (plunging to 72.2 in Sri Lanka), reflecting amelioration of the female mortality disadvantage.