In January-March of this year, 53.8 percent of the babies born in Azerbaijan were boys, and 46.2 percent were girls.
Currently, men make up 49.8 percent of the country's population, and women make up 50.2 percent.
In 1991, the year Azerbaijan regained its state independence, there were 1,048 women for every 1,000 men.
In 1995, there were 1,036 women per 1,000 men, in 2005, 1,032 women per 1,000 men, and in 2015 and 2025, 1,009 women per 1,000 men were recorded.
Although the number of women currently exceeds that of men in the country, it seems that the gender balance has changed significantly in recent years. The predominance of boys among the babies born in the first quarter of 2026 indicates that this balance may change more seriously in the future.
How is it possible to restore gender balance in Azerbaijan? What can be done to stimulate the birth of girls in the country?
Sociologist Elçin Bayramlı Medianews.az said that the main reason for the decrease in the number of girls among newborns is selective abortions: “In this matter, we usually rank first or second in the world. Selective abortions have recently been carried out massively in our country. Our abortion statistics are very high. About 80,000 abortions occur annually. A significant portion of these are selective abortions. The result seriously affects the gender balance at birth. Nevertheless, the number of women in the country still prevails and constitutes 51-52 percent.
The main issue is to prevent the crime of abortion. This refers not only to selective abortion but abortion in general. Abortion is a murder, it is the killing of a living human. It must be prevented, accepted as a severe punishment in the legal system, and penalized. Abortions negatively affect the demographic balance in society and create moral-social problems. Therefore, this issue must be solved. In many countries, abortion is considered a serious crime and is severely punished. We also need to do this.”
E. Bayramlı believes that it is not possible to artificially stimulate and regulate gender balance: “Nature itself balances the gender difference in all living species. For millennia, the balance in human society has been around 50/50, occasionally 41/59. That is, it is around this, an equal balance. If we do not intervene artificially with selective abortions or countries do not engage in long-term destructive wars, no problem arises in the gender balance. It is enough to live by simple rules and a proper biological system for nature to form its balance. This balance can only be changed artificially. As I said, the main reason is selective abortion. Long-term wars resulting in the death of boys can also change the gender balance.
For years, I have proposed imposing severe penalties on abortions and banning abortion. Because according to the general consensus of scientists worldwide, a 4-5 week old fetus has a complete human form. It is already a human. Killing it means killing a human. In short, abortion is the direct killing of a child. Therefore, abortion must be punished as a crime equivalent to murder.
Abortions should be banned in hospitals, and doctors who perform them should be punished. Only in this case will the gender balance be restored. This does not mean that the number of girls will increase. No, nature will regulate itself so that the birth of girls and boys changes again around 50/50 or 51/49. For millennia, tens of thousands of years in human society, it has always been so. In all other living beings, this balance is completely equal or close to equal.
That is, nature’s balance is only disturbed artificially, and this is the problem of human society itself. This problem needs to be put in order, it is necessary to live by proper biological rules. As I mentioned, by applying severe punishments, it is possible to prevent this crime, thereby also maintaining balance in the gender ratio.”
Nailə Qasımova,