Vietnam ends its longstanding 2-child policy
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Vietnam scraps 2-child policy as aging threatens economic growth
Vietnam abolished its long-standing two-child limit on Tuesday to try and reverse declining birth rates and ease the pressures of an aging population. The birth rate in 2021 was 2.11 children per woman, just over the replacement rate required for a population to avoid shrinking over the long term. Since then, the birth rate has steadily declined: to 2.01 in 2022, 1.96 in 2023 and 1.91 in 2024. In Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s biggest city and economic hub, the fertility rate in 2024 was just 1.39 children per women, much lower than the national average. The number of people who can work is likely to peak in 2042 and, by 2054, the population may start shrinking. All of this could make it harder to grow the economy, since there will be fewer workers while the cost of supporting the needs of the elderly grows.
Children hold Vietnam’s and France’s flags at the welcome ceremony for French President Emmanuel Macron at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam Monday, May 26, 2025. (Chalinee Thirasupa/Pool Photo via AP)
Children hold Vietnam’s and France’s flags at the welcome ceremony for French President Emmanuel Macron at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam Monday, May 26, 2025. (Chalinee Thirasupa/Pool Photo via AP)
Children hold Vietnam’s and France’s flags at the welcome ceremony for French President Emmanuel Macron at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam Monday, May 26, 2025. (Chalinee Thirasupa/Pool Photo via AP)
HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam has abolished its long-standing two-child limit on Tuesday to try and reverse declining birth rates and ease the pressures of an aging population.
The National Assembly passed amendments scrapping rules that limit families to having one or two children, state media Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday.
Vietnamese families are having fewer children than ever before. The birth rate in 2021 was 2.11 children per woman, just over the replacement rate required for a population to avoid shrinking over the long term. Since then, the birth rate has steadily declined: to 2.01 in 2022, 1.96 in 2023 and 1.91 in 2024.
Vietnam isn’t the only Asian country with low fertility. But, unlike Japan, South Korea or Singapore, it is still a developing economy.
Nguyen Thu Linh, 37, a marketing manager in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, said that she and her husband decided to have only one child because she and her husband wanted to ensure that they could give their 6-year-old son the best education and upbringing that 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.”
Vietnam introduced rules blocking families from having more than two children in 1988, with the idea that women would spend less time on childcare and more time working.
Vietnam’s “golden population” period — when working age people outnumber those who depend on them — began in 2007 and is expected to last until 2039. The number of people who can work is likely to peak in 2042 and, by 2054, the population may start shrinking. All of this could make it harder to grow the economy, since there will be fewer workers while the cost of supporting the needs of the elderly grows.
Birth rates in Vietnam aren’t falling evenly. In Ho Chi Minh City — the country’s biggest city and economic hub — the fertility rate in 2024 was just 1.39 children per woman, much lower than the national average. At the same time, nearly 12% of the city’s population was over 60, putting pressure on welfare services. To help, local officials started offering about $120 to women who have two children before turning 35 last December.
Vietnam is also dealing with a unbalanced gender ratio, partly because due long-standing preferences for sons.
Doctors aren’t allowed to tell parents the baby’s sex before birth, and sex-selective abortions are banned.
On Tuesday, the health ministry proposed tripling the fine for choosing a baby’s sex before birth to $3,800, state media reported.
China imposed a one-child policy in 1979 amid worries about overpopulation. But as the country faces growing concerns about the long-term economic and societal challenges of an aging population, it has been slowly easing the policy to allow a second child and then a third child in 2021, but with little success at boosting birthrates.
Vietnam approves law to end two-child policy as it tries to reverse plummeting birth rate
Vietnam is changing its population law to remove the two-child limit in an attempt to reverse a plummeting birth rate. The country has one of the lowest birth rates in Southeast Asia. Experts say Vietnam’s declining birth rate is driven by work stress, financial pressures, career ambitions, and shifting social norms. In South Korea, women cite the burden of childcare, financial strain, and lost career prospects as reasons for not having children. Japan saw its lowest births in over a century in 2024.
The country has one of the lowest birth rates in Southeast Asia and, like several other Asian nations, has grown concerned about the long-term impact of a falling birth rate.
In March, to address sharp regional differences in birth rates, the health ministry proposed giving couples full autonomy over how many children they wanted to have and when.
On Wednesday, local media reported that the national assembly had approved new regulation to allow families greater freedom in how many children they wanted to have and when.
The previous law encouraged families to have no more than two children, with some exceptions.
According to the health ministry, Vietnam maintained a stable fertility rate of 2.1 from 1999 to 2022. In the past few years, however, the rate has dropped sharply from 1.96 children per woman in 2023 to 1.91 in 2024, the lowest ever recorded.
In fact, 2024 marked the third straight year of falling fertility in Vietnam.
The trend is most evident in economically advanced urban areas, particularly major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, where rising costs of living play a significant role.
Experts say Vietnam’s declining birth rate is driven by work stress, financial pressures, career ambitions, and shifting social norms.
The two-child limit was introduced in 1988 when the birth rate was high but was rarely enforced for non-Communist Party members. For party members, penalties included warnings, reduced bonuses or dismissal.
Vietnam continues to face a gender imbalance as well, driven by a long-standing cultural preference for sons. On Tuesday, the health ministry proposed tripling the fine “to curb foetal gender selection” to about $3,800, AFP reported, citing state media.
Although there has been some improvement, the birth gender ratio remains skewed, with 112 boys born for every 100 girls.
Many Asian nations like South Korea, Japan and China are struggling with plummeting birth and marriage rates. In South Korea, women cite the burden of childcare, financial strain, and lost career prospects as reasons for not having children.
Japan saw its lowest births in over a century in 2024 while China recorded a 20 per cent drop in marriages despite state efforts to reverse the trend.
Greetings from Mexico City, where these dogs ride a bus to and from school
Mexico City is home to many doggie schools that that teach basic obedience and how to get by in a rambunctious megacity. There’s a kind of dog bus, powered by a motorcycle. The driver told me the pooches were headed home after a long day of learning.
Mexico City is dog-crazy. Ladies push their poodles in strollers across the parks; one of the Chinese restaurants by our house has a full menu for your pooch — not just a bowl of whipped cream, we’re talking a chicken breast dinner! And just like there are street vendors who cater to humans, there’s one guy who runs a food truck offering doggie delectables. (His most popular item seems to be dried chicken feet).
So, as you might expect, Mexico City is also home to many doggie schools that that teach basic obedience and how to get by in a rambunctious megacity. And, well, that means you also need canine transportation. I took this picture just by Parque España, one of the big parks in central Mexico City. It’s a kind of dog bus, powered by a motorcycle. The driver told me the pooches were headed back home after a long day of learning. The vehicles don’t go very far or very fast, but I asked, “And they never jump off?” He said, “The ones that do, go in the cage.”
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Vietnam Ends Two-Child Policy to Tackle Falling Birth Rates
Vietnam has abolished its long-standing two-child policy to tackle concerns about declining birth and fertility rates. The fertility rate in Vietnam, Southeast Asia’s third-most-populous nation, has fallen to 1.91 births per woman in 2024, according to the Vietnam General Statistics Office. The move aligns with recent moves in other Asian countries also experiencing plunging fertility rates and rapid aging. The Vietnamese Ministry of Health is expected to submit a new population law to the National Assembly in 2025, aimed at sustaining fertility rates near replacement level while monitoring the effects of the relaxed family planning rules. The U.N. Population Fund says: “The process of population aging is progressing rapidly, caused by mortality and fertility declines, and life expectancy at birth increase”
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Vietnam has abolished its long-standing two-child policy to tackle concerns about declining birth and fertility rates.
The National Assembly Standing Committee approved a new regulation lifting the restriction, permitting couples to freely choose the timing, number, and spacing of their children on Tuesday, state media reports.
Why It Matters
The fertility rate in Vietnam, Southeast Asia’s third-most-populous nation, has fallen to 1.91 births per woman in 2024, according to the Vietnam General Statistics Office.
This is well below the replacement threshold of 2.1 needed to maintain the population size.
Vietnam’s Two-Child Policy: Origins and Purpose
Vietnam introduced its two-child policy in 1988 to curb rapid population growth, when the average woman had more than four children.
The law restricted most families to one or two children, with exceptions in special cases.
Enforcement was stricter for Communist Party members, who faced penalties including warnings, reduced bonuses, or dismissal from positions for violations.
What To Know
Vietnam’s decision to scrap its two-child policy followed a steady decrease in birth rates since 2022, when the fertility rate dropped to 2.01 and declined again to 1.93 in 2023.
Health officials have expressed concern that the nation’s population of nearly 100 million may begin to contract by mid-century.
Authorities have also cited gender imbalances and the ongoing shift toward a “super-aged society,” with projections that over 20 percent of Vietnamese will be age 65 or older by 2049.
Under the new regulation, all families—regardless of Party membership—can now choose freely how many children to have and when.
Vietnam’s policy shift aligns with recent moves in other Asian countries also experiencing plunging fertility rates and rapid aging.
A billboard campaigning for each family to have two children in an effort to improve the birth rate stands along the street in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Jan. 14, 2024. A billboard campaigning for each family to have two children in an effort to improve the birth rate stands along the street in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Jan. 14, 2024. AP
China saw a slight uptick in its birth rate in 2024, attributed mainly to cultural factors such as the Year of the Dragon, despite wide-ranging pro-natal measures and the end of restrictive family policies.
Meanwhile, the country’s overall population has continued to shrink for the third consecutive year.
Japan, facing a decades-long population decline and with nearly 30 percent of its population over age 65, is preparing to make childbirth free as early as April 2026.
The Japanese government proposes that public health insurance cover all delivery costs nationwide, attempting to alleviate financial burdens on families.
What People Are Saying
The United Nations Population Fund says: “Vietnam is in the period of population aging. The process of population aging is progressing rapidly, caused by mortality and fertility declines, and life expectancy at birth increase and that transition from an ‘aging’ to an ‘aged’ population will occur within just 20 years.”
What Happens Next
The Vietnamese Ministry of Health is expected to submit a new population law to the National Assembly in 2025, aimed at sustaining fertility rates near replacement level while monitoring the ongoing demographic transition and the effects of the relaxed family planning rules.
Vietnam ends its longstanding 2-child policy
Vietnamese lawmakers on Tuesday passed new amendments to the Population Law. The two-child policy, in place since 2009, restricted families to one or two children. The country’s population is estimated by the Ministry of Health to be just over 100 million. The national fertility rate dropped to 1.91 per woman in 2024 — the lowest in Vietnam’s modern history and below the replacement level of 1.9 per woman.”I don’t know what to think of this new law,” says Tran Phuong Mai, a 42-year-old housewife in Hanoi. “It may be a good thing, but in our case, it’s a little too late,” she says.”Vietnam is facing a fundamental challenge that no country in East Asia has yet succeeded in significantly addressing,” says Jonathan London, a senior economic advisor to Vietnam.
toggle caption Jae C. Hong/AP
HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam has scrapped a policy that limited couples to have up to two children, as it addresses a declining birth rate and a shrinking working-age population.
Vietnamese lawmakers on Tuesday passed new amendments to the Population Law, leaving it up to families to decide how many children they are going to have.
The two-child policy, in place since 2009 to prevent overpopulation, restricted families to one or two children. While enforcement was relaxed for ordinary citizens, the policy was strictly applied to government officials and members of the ruling Communist Party.
The country’s population is estimated by the Ministry of Health to be just over 100 million, with a median age of 33.4 years and nearly 70% within the working-age range of 15 to 64. Yet the ministry warned that the national fertility rate dropped to 1.91 per woman in 2024 — the lowest in Vietnam’s modern history and below the replacement level.
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If this trend continues, the so-called ” golden population” period, when the working-age population significantly outnumbers dependents, will end in less than 15 years, the ministry said.
Concerns about the costs of child-rearing
“I don’t know what to think of this new law,” says Tran Phuong Mai, a 42-year-old housewife in Hanoi. “It may be a good thing, but in our case, it’s a little too late.”
Mai’s husband Nguyen Manh Hung, also 42, was a local government official and a mid-level Communist Party member. He resigned over a decade ago, when Mai became pregnant with their third child. “It was a tough decision, but we didn’t want him to face trouble,” she explains.
“Now we could have five or six children, should we want, but I feel that I am already past the optimal child-bearing age, plus it is so expensive to raise a child,” Mai says.
Sociologists echo concerns about costs, estimating that raising a child from birth to age 22 costs 10 to 20 million Vietnamese dong ($380 to $760) per month — more than the average monthly income.
Health Minister Dao Hong Lan told parliament on Tuesday that several countries similar to Vietnam have abandoned birth control policies, noting that removing child limits “aligns with international practice.” For example, neighboring China ended its one-child policy in 2016 and, since 2021, has allowed couples to have up to three children.
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Like many countries, Vietnam is also facing challenges with an aging population
“Vietnam is facing a fundamental challenge that no country in East Asia has yet succeeded in significantly addressing: population aging,” says Jonathan London, a senior economic advisor to Vietnam at the United Nations Development Program.
“This measure needs to be accompanied by other supports for children and families, and especially women,” London says of the lifting of the two-child limit. “Such policies can have a significant impact, but it will require a high level of determination, consistency and scale to truly have breakthrough impacts.”
Lawmakers are also addressing sex imbalances caused by prenatal gender selection, as boys are traditionally preferred in Vietnam’s patriarchal society. The Ministry of Health has proposed increasing fines on prospective parents for pre-birth sex selection from 30 million Vietnamese dong ($1,150) to a maximum of 100 million ($3,800).