Deputy Director of the Population and Family Planning Department, LeCanh Nhac, spoke with Hai quan (Customs) online newspaper aboutpopulation and family planning in Vietnam.
*Vietnam is stillexperiencing a golden population structure. This means that for everytwo people working, there is only one dependent person. However, theVietnamese population is ageing rapidly. What are the populationchallenges faced by Vietnam?
Vietnam started to step into theso-called golden population structure in 2007 and it is predicted thatit will last for about 30-40 years. The structure is a chance to use theplentiful human resources for socio-economic development andimprovement of the human resource for increasing social welfare, healthcare, education and job for future.
The golden populationstructure has created not only opportunities but also challenges to thecountry as the labour force was big in quantity but low in quality dueto lack of skilled labourers and limits in management skills.
Inaddition, there is a rapidly ageing population. This is unavoidable inevery country with socio-economic development and big improvements inpeople's lives. Vietnam's population is ageing at historic speed due togrowing life expectancy and reduced births and deaths.
*Vietnamis facing a growing imbalance between boys and girls at birth. There arenow significantly more boys born than girls. How will this affectsociety?
The sex imbalance has become a hot topic in the massmedia since 2006. The increase is expected to have many unexpectedeffects on society and security - especially when the young startthinking of marriage.
A surplus of males would probably lead tothe breakdown of family structures. It would force many men to marrylate and many to have no chance of finding a partner.
The seximbalance not only lowers the position of women but also deepens genderinequality. For instance, many women would have to marry earlier,increasing the chances of divorce and remarriage for women. There isalso the likelihood of prostitutes becoming commonplace to ease thesituation - and more human trafficking. So, the sex imbalance is animportant way of measuring levels of gender inequality.
*What are the future population risks faced by Vietnam?
Thereare two existing problems, including the present rapid increase inpopulation and the trend towards a more aged population. The country'spopulation was 90 million in 2014 and is forecast to increase to 120million in 2050.
This growth could put pressure on the nation'salready declining natural resources. High population density in urbanareas is already creating pressures on traffic, health care, educationand the environment. And all of these fields are becoming overloaded.
Thesecond challenge is the ageing population. There is an increasingnumber of elderly people living alone and many more old couples. Theelderly also have to spend an average of eight times more on medicalservices due to their increasing years.
The biggest challengefor the health-care system is that the country has only one nationalgeriatrics institute. It is situated in Hanoi. There are a fewgeriatrics facilities in some provincial hospitals.
The ageingpopulation increases pressure on the healthcare and pension systembecause retirees are generally living much longer than a decade or soago.
The monthly pension and social welfare are an importantincome source for the elderly, however coverage [because the country'srate of people involvement in social insurance was low] of theseprogrammes is still low.
With a society with an ageingpopulation, job structure will change [because retired people or thedependent people will be bigger than those still in working age] andcreate heavier economic burdens for the younger generation. All thesedifficulties will be a huge challenge if we do not draw up properpolicies and strategies.-VNA
*Vietnam is stillexperiencing a golden population structure. This means that for everytwo people working, there is only one dependent person. However, theVietnamese population is ageing rapidly. What are the populationchallenges faced by Vietnam?
Vietnam started to step into theso-called golden population structure in 2007 and it is predicted thatit will last for about 30-40 years. The structure is a chance to use theplentiful human resources for socio-economic development andimprovement of the human resource for increasing social welfare, healthcare, education and job for future.
The golden populationstructure has created not only opportunities but also challenges to thecountry as the labour force was big in quantity but low in quality dueto lack of skilled labourers and limits in management skills.
Inaddition, there is a rapidly ageing population. This is unavoidable inevery country with socio-economic development and big improvements inpeople's lives. Vietnam's population is ageing at historic speed due togrowing life expectancy and reduced births and deaths.
*Vietnamis facing a growing imbalance between boys and girls at birth. There arenow significantly more boys born than girls. How will this affectsociety?
The sex imbalance has become a hot topic in the massmedia since 2006. The increase is expected to have many unexpectedeffects on society and security - especially when the young startthinking of marriage.
A surplus of males would probably lead tothe breakdown of family structures. It would force many men to marrylate and many to have no chance of finding a partner.
The seximbalance not only lowers the position of women but also deepens genderinequality. For instance, many women would have to marry earlier,increasing the chances of divorce and remarriage for women. There isalso the likelihood of prostitutes becoming commonplace to ease thesituation - and more human trafficking. So, the sex imbalance is animportant way of measuring levels of gender inequality.
*What are the future population risks faced by Vietnam?
Thereare two existing problems, including the present rapid increase inpopulation and the trend towards a more aged population. The country'spopulation was 90 million in 2014 and is forecast to increase to 120million in 2050.
This growth could put pressure on the nation'salready declining natural resources. High population density in urbanareas is already creating pressures on traffic, health care, educationand the environment. And all of these fields are becoming overloaded.
Thesecond challenge is the ageing population. There is an increasingnumber of elderly people living alone and many more old couples. Theelderly also have to spend an average of eight times more on medicalservices due to their increasing years.
The biggest challengefor the health-care system is that the country has only one nationalgeriatrics institute. It is situated in Hanoi. There are a fewgeriatrics facilities in some provincial hospitals.
The ageingpopulation increases pressure on the healthcare and pension systembecause retirees are generally living much longer than a decade or soago.
The monthly pension and social welfare are an importantincome source for the elderly, however coverage [because the country'srate of people involvement in social insurance was low] of theseprogrammes is still low.
With a society with an ageingpopulation, job structure will change [because retired people or thedependent people will be bigger than those still in working age] andcreate heavier economic burdens for the younger generation. All thesedifficulties will be a huge challenge if we do not draw up properpolicies and strategies.-VNA
