Bloodthirsty Liberal

Reader Joe wrote in to bring this blog post to our attention:

One of my favourite web sites is the CIA World Fact Book. Everything you have ever wanted to know about a country, you will probably find here. Comparisons between countries are also interesting.

While doing some research recently for some possible Aquaculture/Aquaponic opportunities, I came across some very interesting statistics specifically relating to the people. The country I was researching was Qatar, an Arab country in the Gulf bordered by Saudi Arabia. This is what I found.

QATAR

Sex Ratio

at birth:1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 2.211 male(s)/female *****
65 years and over:2.887 male(s)/female *****
total population:1.852 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

This I found particularly strange. At birth and up to 15 there are about the same ratio of males and females. Suddenly from 15 - 64 years and over, there are over 2 males for every female !! What happened to all of the women?

So then I looked at the median age. Look at this.

Median Age

total: 31.9 years
male: 37.3 years
female: 23.1 years (2007 est.) ****

Are they dying young or leaving the country? (or having sex-changes)

So then I looked at life expectancy.

Life Expectancy (at birth)

total population: 74.14 years
male: 71.6 years
female: 76.82 years (2007 est.)

Well they are clearly not dying (thank goodness), but leaving the country? Highly unlikely in an Arab country. Women can hardly walk alone in public, never mind about leave the country.

So then I looked at another Arab country and strangely enough, found the same trend. Look at this.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE)

Sex Ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.047 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 2.743 male(s)/female ****
65 years and over: 1.849 male(s)/female ****
total population: 2.19 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Median Age

total: 30.1 years
male: 32 years
female: 24.5 years (2007 est.)

Life Expectancy (at birth)

total population: 75.69 years
male: 73.16 years
female: 78.35 years (2007 est.)

WTF ??

WTF indeed.

This must be a statistical bug, because I don’t see how it makes sense. One commenter at the blog suspects that the women aren’t actually disappearing, just not showing up on censuses. Age fifteen is about when many women in these countries are married off. While they don’t actually disappear, their reality isn’t that far from existence-less-ness.

I have half a mind to write to the guru of demography, Mark Steyn, to see if he’s got any idea, but he’s a little busy defending himself kangaroo courts across Canada.

Of course, the numbers could be wrong, too. It wouldn’t be the first time the CIA got the facts on the ground wrong.