Vietnam has officially abolished its long-standing two-child policy in a bid to counter declining birth rates and a shrinking workforce.
On Tuesday, Vietnamese lawmakers approved amendments to the Population Law, granting families the freedom to decide how many children to have.
Originally introduced in 2009 to curb overpopulation, the policy limited families to one or two children. Although enforcement was lenient for the general public, it remained strictly applied to government employees and members of the ruling Communist Party.
According to the Ministry of Health, Vietnam’s population currently stands at just over 100 million, with a median age of 33.4 and around 70% of citizens in the working-age group (15–64). However, the national fertility rate fell to 1.91 children per woman in 2024 — the lowest in the country’s modern history and below the replacement threshold.
From 1999 to 2022, Vietnam’s fertility rate remained stable around the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. However, in the past two years, it has dropped sharply, from 1.96 in 2023 to 1.91 in 2024 - the lowest level in the country’s history.
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