Population and family planning is one of the major factors decisive to the nation’s fast and sustainable development, a high-ranking Vietnamese official said.

Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly Uong Chu Luu made the remark at a meeting to celebrate the Vietnam Population Day (December 26) in the northern province of Thai Nguyen on December 25.

Every citizen should be aware that population and family planning work is of paramount importance for quality human resource development, he said.

The NA Deputy Chairman requested that the government soon promulgate a strategy on population and productive health for the 2011-2020 period. The strategy will serve as a foundation for the elaboration of the national socio-economic development plan, he stressed.

Vietnam ’s 2009 General Housing and Population Census revealed that the nation’s population rose by nearly 12 percent in the past ten years, reaching 85.7 million at 0.00 hours (April 1, 2009). The country has become the third most-populous nation in Southeast Asia and the 13th most densely-populated in the world.

Ho Chi Minh City was found to be most populous, housing up to 7,123,340 residents, followed by the capital city of Hanoi with 6,448,837 and the central northern province of Thanh Hoa with 3,400,239./.