The government needs to soon have solutions to improve birth rates to avoid "growing old before getting rich"
Báo điện tử VOV•22/10/2024
VOV.VN - The Economic Committee warned that many countries are falling into a state of "growing old before becoming rich" due to extremely low birth rates and suggested that the Government soon have solutions at the national level.
Presenting a report on the Government's socio-economic development results to the National Assembly on the morning of October 21, Chairman of the Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh said that the national fertility rate is trending down below the replacement level and there is a significant difference between regions. This poses a major challenge in implementing the goals of the Central Resolution on population work in the new situation.
Chairman of the Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh (Photo: National Assembly) According to Mr. Vu Hong Thanh, Vietnam is transitioning from the period of "population aging" to "aging population".
According to the United Nations Population Fund, as of January 7, Vietnam's population was more than 99 million people (accounting for 1.23% of the world's population), ranking 3rd (after Indonesia and the Philippines) in the ASEAN Economic Community, and 15th in the world (down two places compared to 10 years ago).
The total fertility rate in 2023 is 1.96 children per woman. According to forecasts, with the current average fertility rate, the average population growth rate in 2024 is 0.93% and will decrease to 0.73% in 2029, 0.63% in 2034, 0.55% in 2039 and 0% in 2069. Vietnam's population aging process is forecasted to come faster than expected. From 2036 until the end of the forecast period, the elderly population (aged 60 and over) is higher than the child population (aged 0-14). "Population aging is an inevitable trend of every country in the coming time, so it is necessary to have appropriate solutions to avoid falling into a state of getting old before getting rich," Mr. Vu Hong Thanh stated. The Economic Committee is also concerned that the gender imbalance at birth has not improved. The sex ratio of newborns in 2024 is estimated to be 112.3 boys/100 girls, not meeting the target of 111.2 boys/100 girls in the Central Resolution. The gender imbalance at birth has long-term impacts on Vietnam's population structure as well as social and demographic consequences; it is one of the causes of gender inequality.
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