Challenges of delayed childbirth in Vietnam
The rising trend of late pregnancy in Vietnam is leading to increased challenges for women’s health and fertility despite advancements in medical technology as well as trouble to the national demographics. The modern lifestyle has led to a growing trend of young women delaying childbirth or choosing to remain childless. This, coupled with the rising popularity of singlehood among the younger generation, has significant implications for Vietnam’s demographics.
Director Le Thanh Dung of the Vietnam Population Authority (under the Ministry of Health), Vietnam’s birth rate has been declining in recent years, leading to a slower population growth rate (at 0.84 percent in 2023 compared to 0.98 percent in 2022). If this trend continues, Vietnam could face a declining population after 2054. In other words, the number of people born will decrease, the future working-age population will decrease, while the average life expectancy of Vietnamese people increases rapidly, leading to a very high proportion of the elderly population in the total population and Vietnam will have an aging population structure.
Translated by Thanh Tam
