On December 10, the Ministry of Health coordinated with the Hanoi People's Committee to organize the launching ceremony of the National Action Month on Population and celebrate Vietnam Population Day (December 26) with the theme "Improving population quality for a prosperous country and happy families".

Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan said that population work is facing many difficulties and challenges. Many emerging population issues have had and are having a direct impact on life, society and sustainable development of Vietnam.

Specifically, maintaining the replacement fertility rate nationwide is not really sustainable, and there is a trend of low fertility. In 2023, the estimated fertility rate is 1.96 children/woman, the lowest in history and is forecast to continue to decrease in the following years.

In addition, the rapid increase in the sex ratio at birth has been controlled, but it remains high and shows no signs of decreasing (in 2023 it will be 112 boys/100 girls). The population is aging rapidly and will soon pass the golden population period.

The situation of early marriage, incestuous marriage, pregnancy and childbirth among minors, stature, physical strength, and quality of life need to be improved more...

Meanwhile, the organization of population work is not stable and lacks unity among provinces and cities. Investment resources for population work are not commensurate with the requirements and assigned tasks.

"Entering 2025 and the coming years, we will continue to face more difficulties and challenges, and many targets are at risk of being difficult to achieve," Deputy Minister Thuan said.

Mr. Matt Jackson, Chief Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam, added that the results from the study by the General Statistics Office in collaboration with UNFPA show that Vietnam is still in the "golden population" period, meaning that each dependent is supported by two people of working age.

However, Vietnam's population has begun aging since 2011 and is aging at a much faster rate than other countries.

It is forecasted that Vietnam will become an aging country by 2036 and a super-aging society by 2049. At the same time, Vietnam is also entering a low fertility trend, with a total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.96 in 2023.

The transition from a young to an aging society has far-reaching implications and Vietnam needs to start preparing for these demographic changes now.

Solutions include increasing labor productivity combined with policies to create sustainable jobs, as well as increasing labor participation rates, especially among older populations, supporting women to maintain labor market participation, and investing in health and education.