Vietnam ends two-child policy to address declining birth rates and aging population

A billboard campaigning for each family to have two children in an effort to improve the birth rate stands along the street in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (Image credit: AP)

Vietnam has officially ended its long-standing two-child policy. The country’s National Assembly amended the law on Tuesday that restricted families to having one or two children. The news was confirmed by state media, Vietnam News Agency, on Wednesday. The decision was made to boost falling birth rates and address concerns about an aging population.Vietnam’s “golden population” period – when the working age population outnumbered the dependent population- began in 2007 and may continue until 2039. The working population is likely to reach its peak in 2042, and the total population may start shrinking by 2054. This shift could slow economic growth, as there will be fewer workers and more older people needing care and support.In 1988, Vietnam banned couples from having more than two children, with the idea that women would spend less time on childcare and focus on working. However, the number of children a family can have is up to them to decide.Vietnamese families are having fewer children than ever before. The country is witnessing historically low birth rates. In 2021, Vietnam’s birth rate was 2.11 children per woman — slightly above the level needed to maintain a stable population. But since then, it has steadily dropped: to 2.01 in 2022, 1.96 in 2023, and 1.91 in 2024.The decline in birth rates, especially in urban and economically developed cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, is mainly due to the rising cost of living.Nguyen Thu Linh, 37 said that she and her husband chose to have only one child so they could provide their 6-year-old son with the best education and upbringing they could afford.“Sometimes, I think about having another child so my son can have a sibling, but there’s so much financial and time pressure if you have another child,” Linh said. Deputy health minister Nguyen Thi Lien Huong said at a conference earlier this year that it is becoming harder to encourage families to have more children, even with policy changes and public awareness campaigns.Expressing her concern, she added that the declining birth rate could impact long-term socio-economic development, including an ageing population and workforce shortages.She urged society to change its mindset from just focusing on family planning and built a broader perspective on dimensions like population and development.Vietnam is also struggling with an unbalanced gender ratio because of long-standing preference for boys. The ministry of health has proposed tripling the existing fine to $3,800 in order to curb fetal gender selection.Vietnam isn’t the only country to end it’s two-child policy. China also ended its longstanding one-child policy, which began in 1979. The policy was first relaxed to allow a second child and later a third child in 2021. However, these changes made little success in boosting birth rates.