The number of men will total 1.5 million more than women aged 15-49 by 2034 if the sex ratio imbalance at birth remains unaddressed, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has reported. 

The sex ratio at birth is high at 111.5 boys per 100 girls in 2019. 

The figure could further widen to 2.5 million by 2059 if the current sex ratio imbalance at birth continues, the GSO warned.

The above figures are key findings of an in-depth study carried out by the GSO in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Viet Nam.

The study also found that the fertility rate dropped by nearly 50% from 3.8 children per woman in 1989 to 2.09 children in 2019, below the replacement fertility rate of 2.1 over the last three decades.

Noticeably, the sex ratio at birth was high at 111.5 boys per 100 girls, particularly in the Red River Delta, said the GSO.

The country’s population is expected to reach 105 million by 2029, 111 million by 2039 and 117 million by 2069. Meanwhile the average life expectancy was 73.6 (71 for men and 76.3 for women) in 2019, much improved during the past nearly 30 years thanks to better living standards and healthcare.

Half of the country’s population will live in urban areas by 2030 and the rate is projected to increase to 65% by 2069. 

Naomi Kitahara, UNFPA representative in Viet Nam expressed her concern that Viet Nam's population is aging at an unprecedented rate, adding that the country had 11.4 million people aged 60 or more as of last year, or nearly 12% of the population.

Viet Nam implemented a programme in the past to adjust and limit fertility, and this has led to a rapid population ageing process. Naomi recommends that now is the time to have legal and policy frameworks which are fully in line with the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) principles, where individuals and couples are freely and responsibly able to choose the number, timing and spacing of having children.

Viet Nam's population was 96.2 million at the time of the census, the third highest in Southeast Asia behind Indonesia and the Philippines, and 15th highest globally.