The world is aging, and South Asia is no exception. Therefore, many issues which were concerned with the young and working population are now matters to the elderly as well, such as the sex ratio. The poor sex ratio is a well-known fact of South Asia, the region as a whole and individual countries too. But often this discussion is broadly limited to “at birth” and “overall population.” However, here we are trying to explore the sex ratio at later life and how its dynamics have changed over the period of time. The analysis utilizes data from the 2019 revision of the World Population Prospects compiled by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, covering age- and sex-specific population estimates and life expectancy for 1950–2050. Demographic decomposition analysis was employed to isolate the contributions of population growth and aging, while sex ratio and life expectancy measures were used to assess gender differentials in demographic changes and longevity. Our preliminary results suggest that the poor sex ratio was very much evident in old age as well till the very end of the 20th century. However, women outnumbered men at the beginning of this 21st century, and this will continue in the coming decades. However, this scenario varies from country to country; for instance, India and Sri Lanka are on two different paths and speeds but in the same direction. Even with a surplus sex ratio in later life, South Asia is not equivalent to the developed countries in North America and Europe.

Older person, life expectancy, birth rate, mortality, sex ratio, gender, South Asia

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