Vietnam’s Ministry of Health has proposed a new Population Law that would extend maternity leave from six months to seven months for working women giving birth to a second child.

The proposal also includes measures to assist women who give birth to two children in industrial parks, export processing zones, and regions with low birth rates in renting or purchasing social housing.

It empowers couples and individuals to determine when to have children, how many to have, and the intervals between births.

Relevent agencies will periodically announce birth rate statistics, enabling local authorities to create and implement targeted support and incentive policies.

Local authorities, within their scope, will issue policies offering financial and spiritual benefits to encourage a replacement birth rate suitable to local socio-economic conditions.

If the birth rate in certain localities falls to very low levels, the local government will report to the National Assembly and propose timely intervention measures.

The proposal also includes regulations requiring agencies and organizations to provide pre-marriage education on reproductive health, child care, and raising children.

The health ministry also plans to continue enforcing the ban on sex-selective abortion in line with current population laws. 

The local government will periodically announce statistics on provinces and cities with significant gender imbalances at birth.

The proposal suggests increasing penalties for administrative violations related to population issues to up to VND100 million (US$3,990).

There is also a focus on improving population quality, including enhancing physical health from early life stages through counseling, health check-ups before marriage, and prenatal and newborn screenings.

These proposed measures aim to maintain the country’s replacement fertility rate and address gender imbalances.

In its report, the Ministry of Health highlighted serious population challenges that need urgent attention.

Notably, Vietnam’s fertility rate is dropping below replacement level -- from 2.11 children per woman in 2021 to 2.01 in 2022, 1.96 in 2023, and 1.91 in 2024, the lowest in history. 

The rate is expected to continue declining, and by 2039, Vietnam will have passed its ‘golden population’ period. 

By 2042, the working-age population will peak, and after 2054, the population will begin to decline.

Additionally, the gender imbalance at birth remains a significant challenge. 

In 2006, the sex ratio at birth was 109.8 boys for every 100 girls, exceeding the natural balance of 103-107. 

This ratio increased to 112.8 in 2015 and remained high at 111.4 in 2024.

If this imbalance persists, it is estimated that by 2039, Vietnam will have 1.5 million more men aged 15-49 than women of this age group, potentially rising to 2.5 million by 2059. 

This could lead to severe social issues, including disruption of family structures, late or unfulfilled marriages, increased human trafficking, gender-based violence, and transnational crime.

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