Decades of population control work paying off for Vietnam
Vietnam has successfully controlled the rapid population growth, maintained a reasonable population size, and kept the total replacement fertility rate for nearly 15 years, as results of population work over the past six decades reveal.
Notably, the average life expectancy of Vietnamese people increased by 33.7 years, from 40 in 1960 to 73.7 in 2020. The rates of malnutrition and child mortality have decreased by two-thirds, while maternal mortality rate dropped by three quarters.
The success in population control and family planning tasks over the past 60 years has helped Vietnam achieve and complete ahead of schedule the Millennium Development Goals about improving maternal health and reducing mortality rate among children.
In 1999, Vietnam received the United Nations Population Award.
The country entered the golden age of population structure in 2007, which peaked in 2020, with the working-age population accounting for about 70 per cent of the total population. This phase is expected to last about 30-40 years.
However, the population work is facing both opportunities and challenges.
Vietnam is experiencing a significant disparity in birth rates among regions, affecting its rapid and sustainable development. Meanwhile, gender imbalance at birth has appeared since the early years of the 21st century and increasingly spread in both urban and rural areas, with the sex ratio being at over 110 male births for every 100 female births from 2006 to present.
Vietnam is at the golden age of population structure and the country's socio-economy will face difficulties if it fails to tap this opportunity, particularly when the "golden" population will become "old" population after 2035.
The average life expectancy of Vietnamese people has increased, but the number of years living a healthy life is lower than in many countries. Elderly people face the burden of "double diseases" and often suffer from chronic diseases. On average, each elderly person has three diseases, facing the risk of disability due to the ageing process and high treatment costs and long-term treatment and care.
According to the UN’s World Population Prospects, the global human population will reach 8 billion in mid-November 2022. To celebrate World Population Day this year, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has chosen the theme "A world of 8 billion: Towards a resilient future for all - Harnessing opportunities and ensuring rights and choices for all".
As the world population reaches 8 billion, it will pose many urgent challenges that will have an impact on many generations.
Climate changes, conflicts and Covid-19 pandemic are all issues that have caused unequal impacts on vulnerable groups of the population.
Globally millions of people still live in poverty, lack nutrition and do not have access to healthcare services or qualified education programmes.
As such, the UNFPA is calling on countries, including Vietnam, to invest in human and physical capital for inclusive, productive societies that uphold human and reproductive rights. Only then can we tackle the enormous challenges facing our planet and create a world where health, dignity and education are rights and realities, not privileges and empty promises.
Viet Nam News
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