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| Fertility rates in the southeastern region have dropped significantly, from 2.9 children per woman in 1999 to 1.56 children per woman today. VNA/VNS Photo |
HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam's replacement fertility rate is at its lowest level for 12 years and is forecast to continue to decrease, said the Việt Nam Population Authority, under the Ministry of Health.
Fertility rates are now low in 21 provinces and cities, with some reporting exceptionally low rates. These provinces are primarily located in the southeastern, Mekong Delta and central coastal regions.
Fertility rates in the southeastern region have dropped significantly, from 2.9 children per woman in 1999 to 1.56 children per woman today.
Localities with low fertility rates account for about 39.4 per cent of the country's population, which is having a powerful impact on the country's sustainable development, said the authority.
The population's size and composition will be immediately and significantly hit by the low fertility rate, which will lead to labour shortages and population decline.
There are currently about 55 countries in the world that have put forward policies to increase fertility rates. However, those policies of improving fertility in certain countries with extremely low rates have yet to bring about any positive results.
Việt Nam is in the process of population ageing and is one of the countries with the fastest rate in the world.
While developed countries take decades or centuries to transition from the population 'ageing' stage, into the 'old' population stage, Việt Nam has only taken 26 years.
The forecast is for Việt Nam's population to age by 2036 and become 'super-aged' by 2049. According to the Việt Nam Population Authority, the demographic shift from a young to an old society would have multifaceted effects at the national, regional and international levels.
If the fertility rate continues to decline at the current rate, without any effective measures to slow or halt the fall, by 2054-59, it is forecast that Việt Nam’s population will experience negative growth and decline more rapidly.
Deputy Minister of Health Đỗ Xuân Tuyên affirmed population as the most important factor in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland. Population serves as both urgent and long-term strategic task.
He said Việt Nam needed to study and propose specific policies to respond to and prevent the trend of declining fertility rates in order to firmly ensure the country's replacement fertility rate. When it comes to policy-making, Việt Nam might learn a lot from the perspectives and experiences of other nations in the Asia-Pacific region and throughout the world about low fertility rates.
“Based on the experiences of a number of countries around the world, the Ministry of Health is studying and proposing policies and solutions to firmly ensure the country's replacement fertility rate,” he said.
According to Việt Nam's Population Strategy towards 2030, and intervention plans to implement the goals of Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW, the country has committed to maintaining the replacement fertility rate and to bringing the sex ratio at birth to a natural balance.
According to Tuyên, solutions must be modified to accommodate real-world requirements in order to prevent a scenario in which the birth rate falls and cannot be raised again, as is the case in many wealthy nations today, he said. — VNS
