Sex ratio refers to the :
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Number of females per 1000 males in a given area at a specified time period.
Option (1) Number of females per 100 males in a given area at a specified time period. — Incorrect. The sex ratio is counted per 1000 males, not per 100; that is why India’s figures read like 933 or 943.
Option (2) Number of males per 1000 females in a given area at a specified time period. — Incorrect. The ratio counts females per 1000 males; this option turns it round.
Option (3) Number of females per 1000 males in a given area at a specified time period. — Correct. The sex ratio is the number of females per 1000 males in a given area at a specified time period. Nature produces roughly 943 to 952 female babies for every 1000 males, so a ratio far below this points to social causes.
Option (4) Number of females per 1000 males in a given area at a non-specified time period. — Incorrect. A ratio means something only for a specified time; India’s sex ratio has changed census after census. One word, ‘non-’, spoils an otherwise perfect definition. Read to the last word of every option.
NCERT (2025-26): “2.1 Some Theories and Concepts in Demography … The sex ratio refers to the number of females per 1000 males in a given area at a specified time period. Historically, all over the world it has been found that there are slightly more females than males in most countries. This is despite the fact that, slightly more male babies are born than female ones; nature seems to produce roughly 943 to 952 female babies for every 1000 males.…” |