Vietnam faces a significantly imbalanced sex ratio at birth (SRB) that will mean by 2034, about 1.5 million men will not be able to marry wives, a study by the General Statistics Office and the United Nations Population Fund has found.
If the sex ratio at birth remains unchanged, Vietnam is likely to record an excess of 1.5 million males aged 15-49 by 2034 and 2.5 million by 2059, an in-depth study of the 2019 population and housing census reveals.
As Vietnam is listed among three countries with the highest rate of sex ratio imbalance at birth, local authorities are making efforts to raise public awareness and tighten regulations to shorten the gap.
Naomi Kitahara, chief representative of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam, has called for an end to the preference for boys over girls in the country, to promote gender equality.
Vietnam’s population and family planning work in 2019 faced difficulties, especially in communications due to decreased funding, heard a conference in Hanoi on January 9.
Vietnam’s population quality has significantly improved during the past 10 years with improved education level and healthcare, especially maternal and child health, experts agreed at a conference held in Hanoi on December 26.
Raising public awareness of gender equality as well as improving status of women and girls are considered as keys to reduce the unbalanced sex ratio at birth, said Deputy General Director of the General Office for Population - Family Planning Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan on October 8.
Ho Chi Minh City’s average male-to-female sex ratio at birth in the first six months of 2019 remained at a high level, with 109.9 boys per 100 girls, but the difference is smaller compared to the same period last year.
Hanoi will increase activities to improve its population quality in the time ahead, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Health Hoang Duc Hanh stated on July 9.
Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Viet Tien requested the improvement of population quality and healthcare for the elderly during a conference in Hanoi on January 18 to launch its 2019 tasks regarding population and family planning.
Gender inequality at birth has increased in the northern province of Ha Nam in recent years, according to the provincial Office of Population and Family Planning.
People from Hanoi have Vietnam’s longest life expectancy, estimated at more than 75 years old, 1.6 years higher than the national average, according to the Hanoi Population and Family Planning branch.
The General Office for Population and Family Planning under the Ministry of Health on December 20 held a consultation workshop on a Vietnamese Population Strategy until 2030, drawing representatives from ministries, sectors, localities, and international organisations.
Hanoi will strengthen enforcement efforts against the practice of sex selection in an effort to control the capital’s growing gender imbalance, the municipal Health Department said.
A communication campaign was kicked off at a ceremony in northern Vinh Phuc province on October 24 to raise public awareness of imbalanced sex ratio at birth in Vietnam.
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