Vietnamese population to top 90 million

Vietnam’s population is forecast to reach around 90 million in 2013, up roughly one million compared to 2012, said the General Department of Population and Family Planning.

At a meeting to mark Vietnam's Population Day December 26, the department said the country had failed to fulfill most of population and family planning targets this year. Despite considerable achievements, the country’s population remains heavily affected by disease, congenital disorders and malnutrition, particularly those in remote and mountainous areas.

Meanwhile, regions have also seen bigger disparities in birth rates and gender imbalance.

The Ministry of Health will focus on easing the gender imbalance in 43 cities and provinces through challenging male chauvinism that favours boys and tightly controlling healthcare services to deal with foetus gender selection.

It has been estimated that 2.3-4.3 million Vietnamese men will be unable to find wives in the next ten years due to the country’s gender imbalance.

Vietnam aims to curb the country’s population at 93 million by 2015. The nation will spend VND8.9 trillion (USD423.8 million) on the National Population and Family Planning Programme during the 2012-2015 period.