In the seminar “Low birthrate in HCMC: reality, causes and solutions” held by the HCMC Department of Health yesterday, experts addressed the consequences of low birthrate including highly affecting the city’s future demographics, and accelerating aging pace when the proportion of young people and people in working age is decreasing whereas the rate of elder people is surging.
According to the national population strategy until 2030 recently approved by the Prime Minister, which sets goals for various aspects in Vietnamese population, including maintaining replacement level fertility (this rate is roughly 2.1 children per woman).
Besides, Vietnam aims to maintain a steady rate of replacement level fertility and by 2030 the population will reach 104 million. Moreover, the government take heed to develop ethnic minority groups whose population is below 10,000 people.
Also, in the national population strategy, the rate of children aged under 15 is 22 percent and the rate of elderly people aged 65 up is 11 percent and the average height of Vietnamese male and female aged 18 is 168.5 cm and 157.5 cm.
To raise the replacement level fertility in the city, the meeting experts suggested the Ministry of Health and the General Department of Population and Family Planning to consider permission third childbirth in area with low birthrate and not to apply punishments on state-run employees who give birth to their third children.
HCMC Vice Head of Population – Family Planning Office Pham Thi My Le acknowledged that the current population of HCMC is nearly nine million with the density of 4,363 people per sq. km, the highest rate in all 63 provinces in Vietnam.
The city’s birthrate in 2018 was only 1.33, much lower than the country’s replacement level fertility of 2.1, making the city one of the 17 provinces with the lowest birthrate. The figure has been turning lower and lower year by year.
