Vietnam approves law to end two-child policy as it tries to reverse plummeting birth rate
The decades-long policy Vietnam is scrapping to overhaul birth rate
- Vietnam is removing its two-child limit to address a plummeting birth rate, which is among the lowest in Southeast Asia.
- The new regulation grants families greater freedom in deciding how many children to have.
- Vietnam's fertility rate has dropped from a stable 2.1 between 1999 and 2022 to 1.91 in 2024, marking the third consecutive year of decline.
- Experts attribute the declining birth rate to work stress, financial pressures, career ambitions, and shifting social norms, particularly in urban areas like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
- Vietnam also faces a gender imbalance due to a cultural preference for sons, with the health ministry reportedly proposing to triple fines to about $3,800 to curb foetal gender selection.