Vietnam scraps 2-child policy to tackle shrinking birth rate
The nation’s birth rate sunk to a record low in December. Previous laws allowed only one or two children per family, except in special cases
The country banned couples from having more than two children in 1988, but a family’s size is now a decision for each individual couple, Vietnam News Agency said.
The nation’s birth rate sunk to a record low in December, with the total fertility rate falling to 1.91 children per woman, marking the third consecutive year it has dropped below the replacement level.
Birth rates have fallen from 2.11 children per woman in 2021, to 2.01 in 2022 and 1.96 in 2023, the ministry of health said this year.
This trend is most pronounced in urbanised, economically developed regions, especially in big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as the cost of living rises.
It’s too costly to raise a child
Tran Minh Huong, a 22-year-old office worker, said that the government regulation mattered little to her as she had no plans to have children.