Reality has shown that in localities across the country in general and in localities with low birth rates in particular, it is necessary to develop a population policy in the direction of proactive and flexible birth promotion to escape the prolonged "low birth trap".
The story of Ho Chi Minh City's "lowest birth rate in the country"
On May 13, 2025, in Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnam Women's Union organized a scientific discussion on "The current status of population policy related to women and suggested solutions". At the discussion, Ms. Dao Thi Vi Phuong, Deputy Head of the Policy and Law Department, Vietnam Women's Union, said that Vietnam is facing many population challenges. The birth rate is decreasing alarmingly, from 2.11 children (in 2021) to 1.96 children (in 2023), lower than the replacement rate of 2.1 children. Notably, Ho Chi Minh City is the locality with the lowest birth rate in the country, reaching only 1.39 children in 2024. Ms. Dao Thi Vi Phuong emphasized that Ho Chi Minh City has a special urban position, is the economic , cultural and social center of the whole country and has been facing many population challenges, including the lowest birth rate in the country; population diversity, high rates of labor migration and changing family structures.
Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Yen, Head of the Population and Family Planning Department, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Population and Family Planning, informed that in the past 10 years, the birth rate in Ho Chi Minh City has always remained below the replacement level (2.1 children/woman). However, in the current period, the birth rate in Ho Chi Minh City has decreased to below 1.2 children/woman. The main reasons are rapid urbanization, pressure from work, housing,education and high child-rearing costs, the trend of late marriage (average age for men is 32 years old, for women is 29 years old in 2023), late childbirth and the prevalence of only one child. In addition, educational level, changing views of young people and increasing rates of primary and secondary infertility also contribute to the decline in birth rate.
Therefore, the city has implemented many solutions such as: promoting the communication campaign "Each couple has two children"; coordinating with the Women's Union to organize a contest to honor families with two children; strengthening communication activities, conferences, launching ceremonies... In particular, in 2024, Resolution 40 of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council was issued with a support policy of 3 million VND for women who have two children before the age of 35; 2 million VND for poor, near-poor women, social subjects or in island communes who perform pre-/newborn screening; rewarding outstanding individuals and collectives in population work... recording positive feedback from people, young couples and the community.
Proactive and flexible birth promotion policies are needed to escape the "low birth trap"
Current reality shows that the story of Ho Chi Minh City's "lowest birth rate in the country" is no longer unique. The national birth rate has decreased from 2.11 children/woman in 2021 to 2.01 in 2022, 1.96 in 2023 and 1.91 in 2024 - the lowest level in history and may continue to decrease in the coming years. According to forecasts, by 2039, Vietnam will end its golden population period. By 2042, the working-age population will peak and after 2054, the population may experience negative growth. This situation will lead to labor shortages, population decline and accelerated aging, thereby affecting socio-economic development.
 |
Photo: Thanh Vu/VNA |
Therefore, the Government believes that the current regulations on the number of children limit are no longer suitable for the reality when the birth rate in Vietnam is decreasing. On June 3, 2025, the National Assembly Standing Committee passed the revised Population Ordinance, which abolished the regulation that each couple can only have one or two children. According to the new regulations, couples have the right to decide when to have children, the number of children and the interval between births, based on the age, health status, learning conditions, labor, work, income and child-rearing ability of each individual and couple, on the basis of equality. The Ordinance takes effect from the date of its adoption.
As mentioned above, the causes of low birth rates in Ho Chi Minh City as well as many provinces and cities across the country are rapid urbanization, pressure from work, housing, education and high child-rearing costs, the trend of late marriage (32 years old for men and 29 years old for women on average in 2023), late childbirth and the prevalence of only one child. In addition, educational levels, changing attitudes among young people and the increasing rate of primary and secondary infertility also contribute to the decline in birth rates...
At the scientific seminar "The current status of population policy related to women and suggested solutions", among many issues that need attention in the story of increasing birth rate in Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Tran Kim Thanh, Deputy Head of the Department of Government Construction and Youth Affairs, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Home Affairs, paid special attention to the group of civil servants. According to Ms. Kim Thanh, this is a risk group because young civil servants are currently lazy to get married and have children. According to her, the current work pressure makes civil servants and public employees not have much time for themselves and their families. Referring to the fact that the Labor Code has a flexible working regime, however, Ms. Kim Thanh affirmed that this regime has not been applied to civil servants and public employees. She suggested that there should be flexible policies for both women and men in the current context.
From his own experience, Mr. Le Thanh Binh, Deputy Head of the Front - National Defense Security, Residential Area of Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union, agrees with Ms. Kim Thanh's assessment that young officials and civil servants are currently getting married late and are very reluctant to give birth. According to Mr. Binh, the Politburo recently issued Resolution 57 on breakthroughs in science and technology development and national digital transformation. At the same time, the merger of provinces and cities is being urgently implemented and in the near future, the whole country will move towards evaluating officials and civil servants according to KPIs, approaching the evaluation method that the business and private sectors have been doing in the past. In that context, he mentioned the need to change the mindset about working from home and working remotely. “The merger of provinces and cities predicts a high possibility of civil servants having to travel far to work. The difficult and time-consuming travel leaves civil servants with little time for personal stories, children, and family, while this is a group with a very low birth rate today. Therefore, I suggest boldly taking advantage of the current digital transformation context to work remotely and work online. Working from home with KPIs will help each civil servant, especially the young - who are able to adapt very quickly to changes in science and technology - to ensure their work at the agency, while being able to spend more time with their families and personal lives, which will be an impactful solution in the story related to population and building happy families,” Mr. Binh proposed.
According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Nhut, Deputy Head of the Culture - Society Committee, the People's Council of Ho Chi Minh City, the State needs proactive and flexible birth promotion policies to escape the long-standing "low birth rate trap" that is difficult to recover. Birth promotion policies need to be comprehensive and long-term, such as subsidies according to the child-rearing cycle (0-6 years old), tuition exemptions, support for preschools and home childcare, and financial support based on income to ensure regional equity. In addition, to ensure equity in access to population and reproductive health services, the city needs to allocate the budget according to needs, prioritizing vulnerable groups such as female workers and immigrants, and developing flexible services such as mobile clinics.
Ms. Dao Thi Vi Phuong, Deputy Head of the Policy and Law Department, Vietnam Women's Union, also pointed out that the State has raised the issue of ensuring social security for civil servants when they have to move to work far away by trying to build public accommodation areas. However, women are currently taking on too much unpaid work and in the context of women having children and having small children, with such a long distance to travel and work, work priority will be given to men. And if women choose to keep their jobs, they will not have more children. That will greatly affect population issues among civil servants. Therefore, according to her, the remote working solution needs to be considered.
Research on promulgating policies to support women to have two children before the age of 35
In March 2025, the Central Inspection Commission issued Instruction No. 15, amending a number of articles of the 2022 Instruction on disciplining party organizations and party members who violate the law. Accordingly, party members who give birth to a third child or more will not be subject to disciplinary action, according to the new regulations amended by the Central Inspection Commission and effective from March 20. In May 2025, the Politburo issued a Conclusion on continuing to promote the implementation of Resolution No. 21 of the Central Executive Committee on population work in the new situation.
The Politburo requested research agencies to issue policies to support women to have two children before the age of 35 in order to maintain the replacement fertility rate. In addition to financial support, relevant agencies need to develop appropriate subsidy policies and create employment conditions for workers raising young children, especially women of childbearing age. “Research and issue mechanisms and policies to encourage couples and individuals to have two children, with special priority given to areas with low fertility rates and ethnic minorities,” the conclusion stated.
Source: https://baophapluat.vn/khuyen-khich-sinh-con-rat-can-chinh-sach-toan-dien-va-dai-han-post551746.html
Comment (0)