Vietnam ends two-child policy to address declining birth rates and aging population
Vietnam has officially ended its long-standing two-child policy. The country's National Assembly amended the law on Tuesday that restricted families to having one or two children.
The news was confirmed by state media, Vietnam News Agency, on Wednesday. The decision was made to boost falling birth rates and address concerns about an aging population.
Vietnam's "golden population" period - when the working age population outnumbered the dependent population- began in 2007 and may continue until 2039.
The working population is likely to reach its peak in 2042, and the total population may start shrinking by 2054.
This shift could slow economic growth, as there will be fewer workers and more older people needing care and support.
In 1988, Vietnam banned couples from having more than two children, with the idea that women would spend less time on childcare and focus on working. However, the number of children a family can have is up to them to decide.
Vietnamese families are having fewer children than ever before. The country is witnessing historically low birth rates.
In 2021, Vietnam's birth rate was 2.11 children per woman — slightly above the level needed to maintain a stable population. But since then, it has steadily dropped: to 2.01 in 2022, 1.96 in 2023, and 1.91 in 2024.
The decline in birth rates, especially in urban and economically developed cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, is mainly due to the rising cost of living.
Nguyen Thu Linh, 37 said that she and her husband chose to have only one child so they could provide their 6-year-old son with the best education and upbringing they could afford.
"Sometimes, I think about having another child so my son can have a sibling, but there's so much financial and time pressure if you have another child," Linh said.
Deputy health minister Nguyen Thi Lien Huong said at a conference earlier this year that it is becoming harder to encourage families to have more children, even with policy changes and public awareness campaigns.
Expressing her concern, she added that the declining birth rate could impact long-term socio-economic development, including an ageing population and workforce shortages.
She urged society to change its mindset from just focusing on family planning and built a broader perspective on dimensions like population and development.
Vietnam is also struggling with an unbalanced gender ratio because of long-standing preference for boys. The ministry of health has proposed tripling the existing fine to $3,800 in order to curb fetal gender selection.
Vietnam isn't the only country to end it's two-child policy. China also ended its longstanding one-child policy, which began in 1979. The policy was first relaxed to allow a second child and later a third child in 2021. However, these changes made little success in boosting birth rates.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
21 minutes ago
- News18
Chinas economy lags in July under pressure from tariffs, weak property market
Bangkok, Aug 15 (AP) China's economy showed signs of slowing in July as factory output and retail sales slowed and housing prices dropped further, according to data released Friday. Uncertainty over tariffs on exports to the United States is still looming over the world's second-largest economy after President Donald Trump extended a pause in sharp hikes in import duties for 90 days, beginning Monday, following a 90-day pause that began in May. As officials worked toward a broader trade agreement, China reported earlier that its exports surged 7.2% in July year-on-year, while its imports grew at the fastest pace in a year, as businesses rushed to take advantage of the truce in Trump's trade war with Beijing. But that also reflected a lower base for comparison, and manufacturers have slowed investments, hiring and production as they watch to see what comes. Chinese manufacturers also have ramped up shipments to Southeast Asia, Africa and other regions to help offset lost business in the US. Still, annual growth in industrial output fell to 5.7% in July from 6.8% in June, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Investments in factory equipment and other fixed assets rose a meager 1.6% in January-July, compared with 2.8% growth in the first half of the year. Property investments plunged 12% in the first seven months of the year, with residential housing investment dropping nearly 11%. The meltdown in the housing market hit just as the COVID-19 pandemic began, sapping one of the economy's main drivers of growth and causing dozens of developers to default on their debts. The crisis rippled throughout the economy, destroying jobs for millions of people. The government has sought to ensure that most housing that was paid for gets built, but sales remain weak despite a series of moves meant to entice families into back into the market. Since most Chinese families have their wealth tied up in property, the anemic housing market has been a major factor crimping consumer spending. In July, retail sales rose 3.7%, the slowest rate in seven months and down from a 4.8% increase in June. The unemployment rate rose to 5.2% from 5% as university graduates began looking for work. While consumer prices rose 0.4% in July from the month before, prices at the wholesale level slipped 3.6% from a year earlier in another indicator of relatively weak demand. (AP) SCY SCY view comments First Published: August 15, 2025, 11:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
News18
36 minutes ago
- News18
Trump, Putin to meet in Alaska for high-stakes summit on Russia-Ukraine war
Anchorage (US), Aug 15 (AP) US President Donald Trump is meeting face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday for a high-stakes summit that could determine not only the trajectory of the war in Ukraine but also the fate of European security. The sit-down offers Trump a chance to prove to the world that he is both a master dealmaker and a global peacemaker. He and his allies have cast him as a heavyweight negotiator who can find a way to bring the slaughter to a close — something he used to boast he could do quickly. For Putin, a summit with Trump offers a long-sought opportunity to try to negotiate a deal that would cement Russia's gains, block Kyiv's bid to join the NATO military alliance and eventually pull Ukraine back into Moscow's orbit. There are significant risks for Trump. By bringing Putin onto US soil, the president is giving Russia's leader the validation he desires after his ostracisation following his invasion of Ukraine 3 1/2 years ago. The exclusion of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from the summit also deals a heavy blow to the West's policy of 'nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine" and invites the possibility that Trump could agree to a deal that Ukraine does not want. Any success is far from assured, especially as Russia and Ukraine remain far apart in their demands for peace. Putin has long resisted any temporary ceasefire, linking it to a halt in Western arms supplies and a freeze on Ukraine's mobilisation efforts — conditions rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies. Trump said in a Fox News radio interview Thursday that he didn't know if they would get 'an immediate ceasefire" but he wanted a broad peace deal done quickly. That seemingly echoes Putin's longtime argument that Russia favours a comprehensive deal to end the fighting, reflecting its demands, not a temporary halt to hostilities. The Kremlin said Trump and Putin will first sit down for a one-on-one discussion, followed by the two delegations meeting and talks continuing over 'a working breakfast." They are then expected to hold a joint press conference. Trump has offered shifting explanations for his meeting goals In the days leading up to the summit, set for a military base near Anchorage, Trump described it as 'really a feel-out meeting". But he's also warned of 'very severe consequences" for Russia if Putin doesn't agree to end the war and said that though Putin might bully other leaders, 'He's not going to mess around with me." Trump's repeated suggestions that a deal would likely involve 'some swapping of territories" — which disappointed Ukraine and European allies — along with his controversial history with Putin have some sceptical about what kind of agreement can be reached. Ian Kelly, a retired career foreign service officer who served as the US ambassador to Georgia during the Obama and first Trump administrations, said he sees 'no upside for the US, only an upside for Putin". 'The best that can happen is nothing, and the worst that can happen is that Putin entices Trump into putting more pressure on Zelenskyy," Kelly said. George Beebe, the former director of the CIA's Russia analysis team who is now affiliated with the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said there's a serious risk of blown expectations or misunderstandings for a high-level summit pulled together so quickly. 'That said, I doubt President Trump would be going into a meeting like this unless there had been enough work done behind the scenes for him to feel that there is a decent chance that something concrete will come out of it," Beebe said. Zelenskyy has time and again cast doubts on Putin's willingness to negotiate in good faith. His European allies, who've held increasingly urgent meetings with US leaders over the past week, have stressed the need for Ukraine to be involved in any peace talks. Political commentators in Moscow, meanwhile, have relished that the summit leaves Ukraine and its European allies on the sidelines. Dmitry Suslov, a pro-Kremlin voice, expressed hope that the summit will 'deepen a trans-Atlantic rift and weaken Europe's position as the toughest enemy of Russia". European leaders who consulted with Trump this week said the president assured them he would prioritize trying to achieve a ceasefire. The summit could have far-reaching implications Foreign governments will be watching closely to see how Trump reacts to Putin, likely gauging what the interaction might mean for their own dealings with the US president, who has eschewed traditional diplomacy for his own transactional approach to relationships. The meeting comes as the war has caused heavy losses on both sides and drained resources. Ukraine has held on far longer than some initially expected since the February 2022 invasion, but it is straining to hold off Russia's much larger army, grappling with bombardments of its cities and fighting for every inch on the over 1,000-km front line. Andrea Kendall-Taylor, a senior fellow and director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Centre for a New American Security, said US antagonists like China, Iran and North Korea will be paying attention to Trump's posture to see 'whether or not the threats that he continues to make against Putin are indeed credible". 'Or, if has been the past track record, he continues to back down and look for ways to wiggle out of the kind of threats and pressure he has promised to apply," said Kendall-Taylor, who is also a former senior intelligence officer. While some have objected to the location of the summit, Trump has said he thought it was 'very respectful" of Putin to come to the US instead of a meeting in Russia. Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin Moscow-based analyst, observed that the choice of Alaska as the summit's venue 'underlined the distancing from Europe and Ukraine". Being on a military base allows the leaders to avoid protests and meet more securely, but the location carries its own significance because of its history and location. Alaska, which the US purchased from Russia in 1867, is separated from Russia at its closest point by just 3 miles and the international date line. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson was crucial to countering the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It continues to play a role today, as planes from the base still intercept Russian aircraft that regularly fly into US airspace. (AP) SCY SCY (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: August 15, 2025, 11:00 IST News agency-feeds Trump, Putin to meet in Alaska for high-stakes summit on Russia-Ukraine war Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
‘Could fail': Trump talks of ‘divvying things up' ahead of Putin meet
US President Donald Trump appeared shifting tones ahead of his high-stakes summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday (local time), he suggested that the summit could fail, saying any deal on Ukraine's future would only come through a separate three-way meeting with Kyiv to 'divvy things up.' In this combination of file photos, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center.(File Photo/AP) The comments came after Kremlin confirmed the two leaders' plan to meet one-on-one, raising concerns among European allies that Moscow could push Washington into a settlement imposed on Ukraine. On the eve of the summit, Trump hinted at a second meet and stressed he would not conclude any agreement with Putin without involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the decision-making. Speaking to reporters at the White House, the US President insisted he would not be intimidated by Putin. 'I am president, and he's not going to mess around with me,' news agency AFP quoted Trump as saying. Second meeting to 'divvy things up' 'I'll know within the first two minutes, three minutes, four minutes or five minutes... whether or not we're going to have a good meeting or a bad meeting,' Trump added. 'And if it's a bad meeting, it'll end very quickly, and if it's a good meeting, we're going to end up getting peace in the pretty near future.' He gave the summit a one-in-four chance of failure. Meanwhile, Zelensky, who was not invited to the Alaska talks, has criticised the meeting as a reward to Putin and rejected calls to surrender territory. Trump, however, said he hopes to meet his Ukrainian counterpart, possibly immediately afterward in Alaska. 'The second meeting is going to be very, very important, because that's going to be a meeting where they make a deal. And I don't want to use the word 'divvy' things up. But you know, to a certain extent, it's not a bad term,' he told Fox News Radio, reported AFP. High-stakes summit in Alaska Putin will travel to Alaska on Friday (local time), his first visit to a Western nation since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine that has killed tens of thousands. Talks are scheduled for 1:00 AM IST (1930 GMT) at Elmendorf Air Force Base, a key US military installation monitoring Russia. 'This conversation will take place in a one-on-one format, naturally with the participation of interpreters,' Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow. Trump has previously claimed he could end the war within 24 hours of returning to the White House in January. But his outreach to Putin and pressure on Zelensky to accept concessions have so far failed to yield results. Diplomatic efforts since Russia's invasion have largely failed beyond prisoner exchanges. On Thursday, Russia said it returned 84 Ukrainian prisoners in exchange for an equal number of its own captured soldiers.
