Despite population policy makers anticipating an increase in fertility in Ho Chi Minh City in 2023, the actual fertility rate continued to decline, reaching 1.32 children per woman.

The rate had been previously projected to hit 1.42 children per woman for 2023.

However, it standed at only 1.32 children per woman last year, a decrease from 1.39 in 2022. 

The figures were disclosed by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Population and Family Planning during a workshop addressing the challenges of population aging in the city on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the elderly population in the city has been steadily increasing since 2017.

In particular, Ho Chi Minh City is home to over 1.3 million individuals aged over 60, constituting more than 12 percent of the population as of 2023, news site VnExpress quoted the General Statistics Office. 

The average life expectancy for Vietnamese people is 73.7 years, while residents of Ho Chi Minh City boast a higher figure at 76.5 years.

Pham Chanh Trung, director of the municipal population and family planning department, highlighted that this trend is significantly impacted by low birth rates and the swift progression of population aging in the southern Vietnamese metropolis. 

Therefore, experts are calling for practical plans to effectively adapt to this aging demographic.

The focus is on implementing proactive solutions to adeptly address the low fertility rate in the city and on communicating the message 'Every married couple should have two children' to each citizen.

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