The Vietnamese people’s average lifespan reached over 73 in 2012, more than four years higher than a decade earlier, while sex imbalance at birth is on the rise, the General Department for Population and Family Planning reported. The figures were released at a conference on population held by the Health Ministry on Tuesday, during which the agency also said the average lifespan in Vietnam has increased more rapidly than the rest of the world. In 1960, Vietnam’s average life expectancy was 40, lower than the world’s average of 48, but in 2012, the average lifespan in the country reached over 73, while the global average is 69.  According to an assessment by the United Nations Population Fund, Vietnam will rank third in Southeast Asia in average lifespan in 2050, at 80.4, after Singapore (84.1) and Brunei (81.1).Sex imbalance at birth In reviewing the implementation of the Ordinance on Population over the past 10 years, the Health Ministry warned that sex imbalance at birth is on the rise, with a ratio of 112.3 boys to 100 girls last year. In 2000, the sex ratio at birth (male to female) in Vietnam was 106.2 boys per 100 girls. In 2010, it was 111 boys per 100 girls; and in 2011, the ratio increased to 112.2/100. At a seminar held by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in June, experts warned that sex imbalance at birth is creating many negative social impacts, especially gender inequality, in Vietnam. It is expected that by 2050, there will be 2.3-4.3 million more men than women in Vietnam. This means 2-4 million men of marriageable age will be unable to find wives, experts said.