Loosening the Reins: Vietnam's Decade-Long Two-Child Policy scrapped to Boost Birth Rates
Vietnam's Birth Rate Declines: Governing Body Eliminates Two-Child Limit Policy
Chopping down the communist chains, Vietnam's government has flipped the script on its 35-year-old two-child policy! Aiming to revive the bleak baby boom that's plaguing their nation, state media blabbers it all. Back in '88, families were locked down to a maximum of two sprogs. Fast-forward to the future, families now get to decide on their brood size, the national news hourglass declared.
In the last three sunsets, Vietnam's child population has been on a nosedive. Last season, it was a mere 1.91 children per momma, plunging below the magic number needed to sustain the population, the Minister of Hospitality fessed up this year. Clocking in at 2.11 in 2021, it dipped to 2.01 in 2022 and 1.96 in 2023. This downhill trend is most evident in economically prosperous zones, especially the big kahunas like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, staggering under soaring living costs.
Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, Deputy Health Minx, spilled the beans at a gathering earlier this year that it's a Herculean task to persuade families to ratchet up their family sizes, despite political jigsaw puzzles and public powwows. The shrinking chin count is a nagging concern for long-haul socio-economic growth, with the burden of a greying population hanging heavy and mounting workforce deficits.
Vietnam, it seems, is stuck in a gender imbalance predicament, thanks to an age-old fondness for baby boys among its denizens. Therefore, it's verboten to tip the parents off about their baby's birth gender and abortions on birth gender grounds carry stiff fines. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Health thought to triple the current penalty to $3,800 (€3,340).
Sources: ntv.de, AFP
Under the Microscope:
- Population Size (2025 Estimate) – Some 102,028,000 people currently call Vietnam home[3].
- Population Distribution – Urban dwellers made up 37.6% of the population in 2022, while the rural folk covered 62.4%[3].
The Upward Tick:
- The Birth Rate Freefall – Vietnam's birth rate had been gliding downhill over the past few years. The total fertility rate (TFR) tumbled from 2.11 children per momma in 2021 to 2.01 in 2022 and 1.96 in 2023. In 2024, the TFR sunk even lower to 1.91[5].
- Policy Makeover – In 2023, the two-child policy was given the ax as part of a grand strategy to douse the famine of young 'uns. This reform greenlights families to choose their family size[5].
- Urban Vibes and Economy Influences – The birth rate slump is noticeably worse in urban zones, like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, where the expenses of living are swelling[5].
- Future Pressure Points – The diminishing birth rate looms large with ominous challenges for Vietnam's socio-economic advancement, encompassing an aging populace and labor shortages[5].
- Population Forecast (2030) – By 2030, Vietnam's population is projected to reach approximately 103,196,000 people amid slow-paced growth[3].
- Government Actions – While trashing the two-child policy aims to ignite a baby boom, the government battles to remodel societal perceptions towards expanding families[5].
- The recent change in Vietnam's employment policy may attract more families to expand, as the government has scrapped the two-child policy in an attempt to boost birth rates.
- The science of fertility and reproductive health could play a significant role in Vietnam's efforts to combat the declining birth rate, as part of their overall health-and-wellness and family-health strategies.
- Fitness-and-exercise programs aimed at young families might be an effective employment policy measure, encouraging more active lifestyles and potentially increasing birth rates.
- Nutrition plays a crucial role in maternal and child health, and a comprehensive nutrition policy could help support families in making informed decisions about their brood size.
- Womens-health policies will be essential in ensuring that women have access to adequate healthcare services, which could in turn help increase birth rates and reduce gender imbalances.
- Parenting policies that provide support for families, such as childcare subsidies or family leave policies, could also help families decide to have more children.
- As Vietnam works to remedy its workforce deficits and address the challenges of an aging population, migration policies that attract qualified workers may also be considered an employment policy priority, as part of policy-and-legislation efforts to address long-term socio-economic issues.
