What is the ratio of men to women on Earth? At the global level, the male population is very slightly higher than the female population: 50.4% compared to 49.6%. However, as shown in our map based on data collected by the site Our world in datathe female/male ratio varies quite a bit from country to country.
In 2021, Armenia (55%), Belarus (54%) and the Hong Kong area (54%) had the highest proportion of women in the world. Among the countries with the largest female population are several former Soviet republics. On the other hand, the countries with the lowest proportion of women are located on the Arabian Peninsula, led by Qatar (27%), the United Arab Emirates (30%) and Bahrain (38%).
There are three main reasons why this ratio varies within a population.
First of all, we can mention the differences in mortality andlifetime between the two sexes. This factor largely explains why there are the most of them women in Eastern Europe (former USSR), life expectancy differences in this region are among the largest in the world. In Russia, for example, life expectancy at birth in 2021 was 75 years for women and 64 years for men (globally, the difference is only 5 years).
Also, the sex ratios at birth are not equal. In all countries, there are more male than female births (on average 105 boys for every 100 girls). But the extent of this phenomenon varies. In South and East Asia, especially in China and India, there are significantly fewer women than men due to the rate of of birth men more than average (110 to 115 boys per 100 girls).
Finally, migrations it can also affect the female/male ratios in the population. Several countries in the Middle East, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, rely on a significant amount of predominantly male foreign labor, which strongly affects the gender ratio measured there.
