Vietnam’s population will surpass 100 million within the next decade, according to a government population plan published recently.
The Vietnamese government recently approved the national population strategy from now until 2030, reports Dan Tri. Under the master plan, the country hopes to maintain its birth rate of 2.1 children per female citizen of child-bearing age in 2030, reaching a total population of 104 million. Reducing gender imbalance at birth to below 109 boys per 100 girls is also a crucial goal for the next decade, in addition to cutting the rate of child marriages by 50% and consanguineous marriages by 60%.
The country’s age makeup by then will be 22% under age 15 and 11% over age 65. The goal for life expectancy is 75 years on average with at least 68 years of good health, while average height will reach 1.685m for men and 1.575m for women, compared to 1.644m and 1.534m, respectively, in 2006.
According to statistics from the Central Steering Committee for the Population and Housing Census, as of April 1 this year, Vietnam had 96.2 million people, making it the world’s 15th-most populous country and Southeast Asia’s third-most, behind Indonesia and the Philippines. This was an increase of 10.4 million citizens compared to 2009.
While the Vietnamese population is increasing at a manageable pace, increased life expectancy is leading to an aging population pyramid in which fewer working-age individuals are supporting more senior citizens. By 2035, the country's elderly population is expected to double from seven to 14% of the total population.
To prepare for this change in demographic structure, the United Nations Population Fund suggested in a report that Vietnam should tackle a range of issues, including providing improved medical care, creating proper roles in occupational spheres, raising public awareness of aging populations, and creating more accurate data collection and sharing.
