Ho Chi Minh City has the lowest birth rate in the country.

This is the sharing of Dr. Pham Vu Hoang, Deputy Director General in charge of the General Department of Population and Family Planning (Ministry of Health) at the Workshop "Low fertility rate in Vietnam: Current situation and solutions" held on November 10.

The whole country has 21 provinces with low fertility rates, of which below replacement fertility is concentrated in the South, including the Mekong Delta provinces (except Binh Phuoc) and the Southeast.

The Mekong Delta provinces currently have a birth rate of 1.8 children/woman; the Southeast has a very low birth rate of 1.56 children/woman.

Workshop "Low fertility rate in Vietnam: Current situation and solutions".

According to the results of the 2021 Population Change Survey, Ho Chi Minh City is the locality with the lowest total fertility rate in the country at 1.48 children/woman.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong said that a prolonged low birth rate will accelerate the aging process of the population, create a labor shortage, and affect social security...

Notably, low birth rates also occur in many provinces with difficult socio-economic conditions in the Mekong Delta region, which plays an important role in agricultural production and ensuring national food security.

Vietnam is one of the countries with high infertility rates (about 7.7%), of which primary infertility is 3.9% and secondary infertility is 3.8%. Families who still intend to have a second child, if delayed too long, will lead to secondary infertility.

Vietnam's Population Strategy to 2030 emphasizes the goal of "firmly maintaining replacement fertility and reducing fertility disparities between regions and groups". These are very timely population policy orientations, aiming to improve the low fertility situation in some regions. To achieve this, it is necessary to have policies and strategies to support population work in the coming time.

According to Ms. Lien Huong, to do this, areas with low birth rates must focus on promoting the benefits of having two children; focus on encouraging young men and women not to marry late, not to have children late, each couple to have two children and raise their children well.

Piloting and gradually expanding measures to support couples who have two children in low birth rate areas should be implemented, such as: Building a community environment suitable for families raising young children; supporting women during pregnancy and childbirth; supporting couples who have two children (buying social housing, renting housing, priority admission to public schools, supporting children's education costs)...

The General Department of Population and Family Planning forecasts that Vietnam's population in 2069 will be about 117 million people, with an aging index (the percentage of people aged 60 and over compared to children under 15) of 154.3%, 3 times higher than in 2019, meaning that for every 2 children, there will be 3 elderly people. Therefore, it is necessary to implement synchronous solutions to address the birth rate gap before it is too late.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/nhieu-tinh-thanh-phia-nam-co-muc-sinh-thap-nhat-192231110171637636.htm