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Vietnam’s population was over 79 million in 2002. As of April 1, 2012, the figure reached 88.78 million. The national population was forecast to hit 90 million on November 1, 2013. The national strategies on population and reproductive health target 93 million in population by 2015.
It was reported that the average number of children born to a woman fell sharply from 6.3 in 1960 to only 2.05 in 2012. Meanwhile, population growth shrank to 1.06% in 2012 from 3.5% in 1960.
In 2007, Vietnam started entering the time of golden population structure with over 69% of 61 million-size population at the working age.
So far, Vietnam is the 13th largest populous country in the world and ranks 3rd in Southeast Asia.
However, Viet Nam is also facing emerging problems such as low population quality, an increasingly aging society as well as gender imbalance.
Especially, the opportunities of golden population structure have yet fully been tapped, said Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien.
It is necessary to have law to handle risen issues including taking care of elder people, population distribution and management, migration and urbanization, population quality, same sex marriages and surrogacy.
Addressing the event, Deputy PM Nguyen Thien Nhan underlined that population plays as a decisive role in national sustainable development.
He suggested the health sector focus on four shortcomings namely uneven ratio of birth rates, gender imbalance at birth (112.3 boys per 100 girls), uneven death rates of children under five years old (mainly in mountainous areas) and inequality in taking care of elderly people.
The Government leader asked the Ministry of Health to consult experience of other countries such as Finland, Germany, Japan and China while implementing the population policies and crafting the draft law on population.
The Ministry of Health was assigned to build policies which encourage people in reproductive ages to deliver two children in a bid to maintain the golden population structure and to adjust retirement ages.
Mr. Nhan also took the occasion to thank the United Nations Population Fund for supporting Viet Nam to attain the achievements over the last ten years.
