Deputy head of the General Office for Population and Family Planning Dr Le Canh Nhac told a press conference in HCM City on Wednesday that they were considering financial benefits for couples who have two children.
Although Vietnam has seen a stable birth rate over the past ten years with 2.1 children born per woman, there is a large difference some areas. The southern region reported a general birth rate of 1.7 children, while the numbers are between 2.5 to 3.1 in the northern mountainous, the Central Highlands and the central regions, which are much higher than the ideal birth rate of 2.1, Nhac said.
The population official expressed concerns over the situation as areas with high economic development have lower birth rates, while poorer areas have higher. There are also concerns about the high speed the population is ageing.
"We’re facing lots of challenges in socio-economic development resulting from a rapidly ageing population," he added. "Countries in Europe had hundreds of years to see their population turning from golden to ageing periods, China and Japan had 26 years, but Vietnam only has 18 years. The number of people aged 60 and over in Vietnam has reached 10% since 2011."
In addition to improving health services and social insurance benefits to improve the quality of population, Nhac said there will have measures to maintain a stable birth rate.
"We'll change the slogan 'One or two children per couple is enough.' by a new slogan: 'At least two children per couple'," Nhac said. "We'll also consider giving financial benefits to couples with two children."
