Vietnam is among the ten countries with the highest ageing rate from now to 2050, a recent report by the United Nations has shown.

This fact was highlighted by Director of the National Geriatric Hospital Pham Thang at the second international conference on ageing in Hanoi on November 15.

He said that an ageing population is a global phenomenon and Vietnam is no exception. In 2012, it was officially listed as having a higher number of older people every year. Such a population trend has a profound impact on every nation and its people socially, economically, politically, culturally and psychologically. The health sector will have to cope with this new challenge, he noted.

Meanwhile, Director of the Health Ministry’s Department of Medical Services Luong Ngoc Khue reported in more detail about the growing lifespan of Vietnamese people. At present, the average life expectancy in the country is 73, while 50 years ago it was just 40. In that time the global average has increased by 21 years.

From 1979 to 2009, Vietnam saw a rise of 1 million old people for each decade. The increase now stands at 1.2 million every two years, bringing the total elderly number now to 8.65 million, Khue stressed.

The conference, the second of its kind, included two plenary sessions. It offered a chance for domestic and foreign experts to share experiences and update advanced technology in health services for the elderly.-VNA