The study report is prepared by Christophe Z Guilmoto, senior fellow at the French Institut de recherche pour le development (IRD, Research Institute for Development) based at CEPED in Paris and a leading expert on the issue of prenatal sex selection, at the request of UNFPA Armenia Country Office.

The purpose of the study was to conduct an in-depth analysis of sex-at-birth (SRB) imbalances in Armenia and provide projections of the possible consequences of the skewed sex ratio for the country.

Problem statement: a study initiated by UNFPA Armenia Country Office in 2011 confirmed that prenatal sex selection occurs in Armenia as part of Armenian families prevent girls from being born for the sake of having a son. As a result, since early 1990s the sex-at-birth ratio in Armenia has become skewed and comprised 114 boys to 100 girls in 2012, while the accepted normal biological ratio is 102-106 boys to 100 girls.