Slightly more females than males live in most countries. Which statem…

Slightly more females than males live in most countries. Which statements about this are correct?

(A) Girl babies resist disease in infancy better than boy babies.
(B) Women have tended to outlive men in most societies.
(C) Nature produces slightly more female babies than male babies.
(D) These two advantages give roughly 1050 females per 1000 males in most contexts.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → A, B and D only

(A) Girl babies resist disease in infancy better than boy babies. — Correct. Girl babies have an advantage over boy babies in resisting disease in infancy, the first of the two reasons.

(B) Women have tended to outlive men in most societies. — Correct. At the other end of life, women have tended to outlive men, so there are more older women than men.

(C) Nature produces slightly more female babies than male babies. — Incorrect. Nature produces slightly more male babies, roughly 943 to 952 female babies for every 1000 males. Females outnumber males despite this, because of the two advantages.

(D) These two advantages give roughly 1050 females per 1000 males in most contexts. — Correct. Together, these two advantages give a sex ratio of roughly 1050 females per 1000 males in most contexts.

NCERT (2026-27): “C C I …
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. If despite this fact the sex ratio is somewhat in favour of females, this seems to be due to two reasons. First, girl babies appear to have an advantage over boy babies in terms of resistance to disease in infancy. At the other end of the life cycle, women have tended to outlive men in most societies, so that there are more older women than men. The combination of these two factors leads to a sex ratio of roughly 1050 females per 1000 males in most contexts. …”