Vietnam is stepping up international cooperation on ageing-related issues and requested UNFPA’s continued support through technical expertise, international experience and policy recommendations in areas such as population ageing, long-term care, the care economy, the silver economy and promoting the role of older persons in society.
Vietnam remains firmly committed to multilateralism and the United Nations’ central role in global governance. It appreciates UNESCAP’s role in translating global commitments into concrete regional action and cooperation, sharing best practices, supporting evidence-based policymaking and tackling emerging challenges.
Major developers such as Vingroup, Sun Group and Tran Anh Group have already announced plans to enter the segment, signalling increasing investor interest in what is widely seen as an underdeveloped but promising market.
The PM stressed that population ageing is an inevitable part of development, and the key challenge is not to avoid it but to respond proactively with sound policies and decisive action to turn the "silver economy" into a new driver of growth, innovation and sustainable development.
In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh described the silver economy as a strategic issue for sustainable development, particularly in the light of the rapid global population ageing worldwide, including in Vietnam.
Malaysia’s population stood at 34.2 million in 2025 and is projected to rise to 36.4 million by 2030 and 38.3 million by 2035. However, marriage rates have shown a declining trend, falling from 6.6 marriages per 1,000 people in 2022 to 5.7 per 1,000 in 2023. This shift is expected to shorten reproductive periods and further contribute to lower fertility rates.
As Vietnam’s population ages rapidly, Dr Angela Pratt, WHO Representative in Vietnam, identified two strategic priorities: strengthening primary healthcare and developing a formal long-term care system. These measures are essential not only for healthy ageing, but also as long-term investments with wide-ranging socio-economic returns.
In 2025, Vietnam faced severe pressures from natural disasters alongside a complex global and regional environment, population ageing, and rising risks from communicable and non-communicable diseases. These challenges placed heavy demands on the health sector, while domestic efforts to streamline the state apparatus and implement a two-tier local government system created both pressure and impetus for innovation and more effective public service delivery.
Granting couples and individuals the right to decide when to have children, how many to have, and the spacing between births, in line with their health, living conditions, work, study, and caregiving capacities, is fully aligned with the principles of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), to which Vietnam is a committed signatory, said the UNFPA Country Representative in Vietnam.
Health experts have shared the latest knowledge on the impact of pneumococcal diseases in adults and the effectiveness of conjugate pneumococcal vaccines.
