New legal corridor for population policy in the modern era

The innocence and bright smiles of children in the highlands. Photo: Phan Tuan Anh/VNA

Faced with new population challenges in the modern era, the development of a Population Law is not only necessary but also an urgent requirement, aiming to shift the policy focus to “population and development”, taking advantage of golden opportunities and effectively responding to profound changes in population structure.

Laying the foundation for sustainable development

Over the past years, population work in Vietnam has achieved many important achievements, contributing significantly to increasing per capita income, promoting economic growth, improving gender equality and social progress, as well as protecting natural resources and the environment. Vietnam is one of the countries that successfully implemented the Millennium Development Goals in 2015 and is gradually moving towards effectively implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda to 2030. These achievements are a solid foundation for Vietnam to shift its policy focus from “Family Planning” to “Population and Development”.

With a population of over 100 million, Vietnam has been in a “golden population” period since 2007 – a period when the working-age workforce accounts for a high proportion, creating great room for socio-economic development. However, this opportunity will not last forever. Without appropriate policies, the “golden” opportunity can quickly turn into a burden as the population ages rapidly and the labor force gradually declines.

Since 2006, Vietnam has reached the replacement level of fertility (about 2.1 children per woman). However, current trends show that the fertility rate is continuing to decline sharply, reaching only 1.91 children per woman in 2024 - the lowest level in history. In particular, in key economic regions such as the Southeast and the Mekong Delta, the fertility rate has dropped to a very low level (1.48 - 1.62), while many disadvantaged areas have a high fertility rate (2.34 in the Northern Midlands and Mountains). This disparity leads to a serious imbalance in population size, structure and quality between regions, threatening stability and sustainable development.

According to experts, if this trend continues, Vietnam may face the end of its golden population period in 2039, accompanied by a series of consequences: future labor shortages, increased social security burdens, imbalances in insurance funds, and waste of invested social infrastructure systems.

Dr. Pham Vu Hoang, Deputy Director of the Department of Population, said that population work is currently facing many difficulties and challenges: the trend of low birth rate, significant differences between regions and subjects; gender imbalance at birth remains high; population aging is rapid, soon becoming an aging country; quality of human resources and population quality are slow to improve; migration management and population distribution are still inadequate, access to basic services for migrants is limited.

In order to comprehensively address current population issues, the Ministry of Health is presiding over the drafting of the Population Law - a strategic shift in national population policy planning.

Previously, Vietnam did not have a Population Law, only the Population Ordinance was first issued by the National Assembly Standing Committee in 2003, effective from July 1, 2003. The establishment of the Population Law is an important step, upgrading the legal framework from an Ordinance to a Law, more clearly demonstrating the importance of population work in the national development strategy.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, Deputy Minister of Health, said that the development of the Population Law to replace the current Population Ordinance is very necessary to create a legal basis to institutionalize the Party's guidelines, policies and guidelines on population work in the new situation, directly the Resolution of the 13th National Congress of Delegates, Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW of the 6th Conference of the 12th Party Central Committee on population work in the new situation; have measures to respond to the rapid population aging in the coming time, effectively take advantage of the golden population structure period to serve the sustainable development of the country; towards 2045, Vietnam will be a country with a good quality population, a large labor force, high income... enhancing Vietnam's position and prestige in the international arena.

The draft Population Law aims at three main pillars: firmly maintaining the replacement fertility rate nationwide, especially adjusting by region and population group to avoid population size imbalance, minimize the consequences of aging and ensure sustainable human resource development; improving population quality from the beginning of life, through universalizing pre-marital health consultation and examination, expanding prenatal and neonatal screening - diagnosis - treatment, preventing genetic diseases and disabilities, while enhancing nutrition education, mental health, and comprehensive child development; developing policies to adapt to the aging population stage, ensuring social security, health care for the elderly, contributing to maintaining social stability and reducing the burden on the health and insurance system in the future.

Changing thinking from population control to population development

Nurses in the Neonatal Department take care of premature babies. Photo: Dinh Hang/VNA

One of the breakthroughs of this draft Law is to shift the focus from “family planning” to “population and development” - a step forward in thinking and action. The Law no longer simply controls the number of births but aims to regulate a reasonable birth rate, ensuring population equity between regions and subjects, combined with a comprehensive human development policy.

In particular, the draft Law has proposed many new, groundbreaking policies that have the potential to create far-reaching positive changes in society. First of all, the draft proposes to give couples the right to have children, allowing them to decide for themselves the number of children and the timing of their births in accordance with their conditions, circumstances and personal wishes - no longer bound by rigid regulations as before. This is a big step forward demonstrating respect for individual freedom and the initiative of each family in building their own life.

Previously, the Central Inspection Commission issued Instruction 15 amending and supplementing a number of contents in Instruction 05 on implementing Regulation 69 of the Politburo, regarding disciplinary action against Party organizations and Party members who violate. With this change, from March 20, 2025, Party members who have a third child will no longer be disciplined. Having a third child is also no longer a violation for consideration of Party disciplinary action.

Professor Nguyen Dinh Cu, former Director of the Institute of Population and Social Issues, said that not disciplining party members who have a third child is an urgent and correct policy, especially in the context of a sharp decline in the overall birth rate, especially in urban areas. This regulation will contribute to improving and preventing the current decline in birth rates and pave the way for amending other regulations, creating a consistent regulation in the political system.

In addition, to encourage reasonable birth rates in areas facing low birth rates - such as industrial parks, export processing zones, and large urban areas - the draft law also proposes a policy of giving priority to social housing for women who have given birth to two children. This is a solution that both encourages and creates favorable conditions for young families to balance work and child-rearing responsibilities.

For the elderly - a rapidly growing population in Vietnam, the draft Law also shows practical concern when proposing to buy health insurance for the elderly who do not have a card, to ensure they have full access to medical services, reduce the burden of health care costs and improve the quality of life in old age.

Notably, the draft Law also provides provisions to increase administrative penalties for violations in the population field, thereby enhancing deterrence and discipline, while promoting awareness and compliance with the law throughout society.

All of the above innovations show that the draft Population Law is a prerequisite for Vietnam to be able to "keep pace" with profound changes in the new era. Never before has the population problem become so multidimensional, complex and influential as it is today - from economics, health, education to social security, security and political stability. In the context of the country entering a period of strong population structure transformation, with trends such as population aging, declining birth rate, gender imbalance at birth and migration fluctuations, having a new legal corridor - modern, flexible and suitable for practice - is extremely necessary.

Elderly care at Tam An Nursing Home, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City.

The appraisal report of the proposal dossier for the development of the Population Law submitted by the Ministry of Justice to the Government assessed that the draft Population Law proposed by the Ministry of Health initially had a number of specific, outstanding and different policy contents compared to current laws in order to implement the objectives of the Population Law in solving current population issues.

Today, population is no longer a mere number, but a central resource that determines national competitiveness. The development of the Population Law is not only to solve current problems, but also a "policy key" to open up the future: preparing a high-quality workforce for the digital economy, adapting to the 4.0 industrial revolution and realizing the aspiration of becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045.

According to baotintuc

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/hanh-lang-phap-ly-moi-cho-chinh-sach-dan-so-trong-ky-nguyen-hien-dai-post402510.html