The information was released at the National Conference on Population and Development held on Thursday in celebration of World Population Day July 11.
Speaking at the event, head of the Department of Population under the Ministry of Health, Le Thanh Dung, said that after a long time maintaining the replacement fertility rate of between 2-2.1 children per woman since 2000, the number has started to fall since 2020 with the record low of 1.96 children per woman reported in 2023.
"Without timely policy adjustments and solutions to raise the birth rate, Vietnam's population will continue to decrease, hindering the country's socio-economic development," Dung said.
Vietnam has officially entered the "ageing phase" since 2011 and is one of the most rapidly ageing countries in the world. The country is projected to become an "aged" society by 2038.
Recognising the potential threat to the country's economic growth, the Prime Minister signed a decision in 2020 approving a programme on adjusting fertility rates in different regions and groups by 2030.
This initiative includes increasing birth rates in areas with low fertility and decreasing them in regions with high rates, ultimately striving for a national average of 2.1 children per woman.
Speaking at the conference, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that to celebrate the World Population Day this year, they chose the theme, "Investing in population means investing in sustainable development."
Vietnam has surpassed the milestone of over 100 million people, becoming the third most populous country in Southeast Asia and ranking 15th in the world.