During the past few years, much has been written and discussed about selective sex abortions in Armenia, and the fact that more males were being born than girls; a troubling demographic trend in a country grappling with a decreasing population.

According to a statement released by Armenia’s Ministry of Health, programs initiated by the UN to balance the discrepancy have been paying off.

That parents were selectively aborting female pregnancies became an issue in the 1990s, reaching critical levels between 2008 and 2012.

Ministry figures claim that a ratio of 100 females to 114 males were born in Armenia in 2014-2015.

In 2016, the ratio dropped to 100 females to 112 males. In the first half of 2017, the discrepancy dropped even further – 100 girls to 100 boys.

The ministry says that legislative changes have helped to decrease the discrepancy in which boys dominated.

One such legislative change was to add a selective sex abortion ban to the 2016 “Law on Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights”.