The sex ratio at birth remains high.

In 2023, the sex ratio at birth remained high, with 112 boys for every 100 girls, while the natural ratio is approximately 105/100.

According to the General Statistics Office's report on the population, labor, and employment situation for the fourth quarter and the whole year of 2023 , Vietnam's sex ratio at birth remains high. In 2022, this ratio was 113.7 boys per 100 girls, considered serious. In 2020 it was 112.1, and in 2019 it was 111.5 girls per 100 boys.

Previous reports have indicated that gender imbalance negatively impacts future population structure and leads to a surplus of men. In 2020, the General Statistics Office projected that Vietnam would have a surplus of 1.5 million men aged 15 to 49 by 2034, and this number would increase to 1.8 million by 2059 if the gender imbalance at birth remains high. The shortage of women puts pressure on girls to marry early, easily leading to them dropping out of school to start a family and increasing trafficking of women.

Children in Thua Thien Hue province with their handcrafted toys, April 2023. Photo: Vo Thanh

The average fertility rate for Vietnamese women last year showed a slight downward trend, reaching 1.96 children per woman. This is half the rate of 3.8 children per woman in 1989. The General Statistics Office forecasts that this rate will continue to decline, resulting in Vietnam's average fertility rate being lower than the Southeast Asian average, at around 2 children per woman, which is below the replacement level of 2.1 children.

The average life expectancy of Vietnamese people in 2023 was 73.7 years, with men at 71.1 and women at 76.5. This is lower than three other countries in the region: Singapore (83), Brunei (78), and Thailand (76). Vietnamese elderly people face many illnesses, and their healthy lifespan is only about 64 years out of every 10 years, significantly impacting their quality of life. Vietnam is striving to raise the average life expectancy to 75 years with 68 years of healthy life by 2030.

2023 also marked the year Vietnam's population reached 100.3 million, with a relatively balanced male-female ratio. Population migration, urbanization, and administrative boundary expansion increased the urban population to 38%, while the rural population remained at 62%. The declining birth rate has led to a slowdown and gradual decrease in population growth in the coming years, reaching 0.84% ​​in 2023 compared to 0.98% the previous year.

Elderly people in Hanoi relax by Ho Guom Lake, August 2023. Photo: Ngoc Thanh

Vietnam's population is aging at an unprecedented rate, coupled with declining birth rates, leading to a gradual shift in its demographic structure towards an increasing proportion of the elderly and a decreasing proportion of young people. The youth population decreased from 23% in 2020 to 20.9% at the end of 2022, with the youth workforce declining by 170,000 annually. This poses a significant challenge for Vietnam in improving the quality of its workforce as it integrates into the global economy .

To improve this situation, experts suggest that more policies are needed to support women during pregnancy and childcare to increase the birth rate. Female workers are under a lot of pressure to balance work and family life. Specifically, more maternity leave for both parents is needed, flexible working hours for women raising young children are required, job security after maternity leave is guaranteed, and personal income tax and household public service contributions are reduced.

Various levels of government have implemented several support policies to encourage an increase in the birth rate. In 2021, the Ministry of Health issued a policy providing financial or in-kind support to women in low-birth-rate areas who have two children before the age of 35.

Hong Chieu

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