Ho Chi Minh City has lost its appeal as an ideal destination for internal migrants from other provinces and cities as the migration flow dropped sharply in 2023, according to Pham Chanh Trung, head of the city’s Population and Family Planning Branch.

The growth rate of the migrant population dropped to just 0.67 percent, or about 65,000 people, last year, Trung said at a seminar held by Phu Nu TPHCM (Ho Chi Minh City Women) newspaper on Tuesday.

In comparison, the city’s migrant population growth rate was 1.7 percent in 2020, equal to nearly 180,000 migrants, which helped to bolster its workforce.

According to Trung, Ho Chi Minh City has experienced a decline in internal migrant workers since 2021, following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For the first time, Ho Chi Minh City has lost its appeal as an ideal destination for internal migrants from other localities,” he stated.

The migrant growth rate of 0.67 percent in 2023 also marks the first time that this figure has fallen below the city’s natural population growth rate. 

In previous years, such as 2022, both rates were equal at 0.7 percent.

At Tuesday’s event, Trung also addressed other concerning population indicators for the city, including a total fertility rate of just 1.32 children per woman, compared to Vietnam’s overall rate of 1.96, the lowest level since 1975. 

In 2023, the average age at first marriage in the city was recorded at 30.4, further consolidating its upward trend in recent years.

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