Christopher Weeks wrote:Great maps, Mike!
The one I found interesting was the male/female ratio map.
Things I noticed:
1. The
highest female countries are still only high by a matter of give or take 4%.
2. The
highest male countries were high by 15 to 25% and were all on the edge of the Persian Gulf - maybe men move there for the jobs, and women are likely not appreciated?
3. Some of those countries, I suspect, are feeling the interaction of 1-child policies and culture.
4. I have read that traditionally, statistically, slightly more boys are born than girls, but that more boys died before adulthood. I say traditionally, because the data is 40 years old at least. No idea what current numbers would look like. People know much more about how they can subtly shift those odds if they've got enough motivation to do so - and sometimes not so subtly.
5. I'm not sure what the cutoff was between "almost equal" and "more females", but considering the "highest percentages" quoted, it's likely only a few percentage points in most countries. Considering that the "average" lifespan of women is still higher than the "average" lifespan of males in most countries, that alone could account for the "more females" bit. My mom out-lived my dad by over 20 years, but my in-laws were only about 2 years age difference, so there's a lot of room for statistics to show a "gap" that isn't going to mean much for young people looking for partners.