Ho Chi Minh City faces rapidly ageing population with 12.5 per cent over 60

Pham Chanh Trung, head of Ho Chi Minh City Population Department, shared this information during a campaign launch event on July 11 aimed at integrating communication and services to enhance population quality.

Ho Chi Minh City faces rapidly ageing population with 12.5 per cent over 60

"Last year, the percentage of elderly in the city was 11.03 per cent, having been under 10 per cent in previous years. The average life expectancy in the city is relatively high at 76.5 years, compared to the national average of 73.7 years," Trung said.

Meanwhile, the city's birth rate is continuing to decline. The average number of children per woman of reproductive age in Ho Chi Minh City is 1.32, down from 1.42 last year, significantly lower than the replacement fertility rate of 2-2.1 children per woman that Vietnam needs to maintain. For nearly 20 years, the city has consistently ranked among the areas with the lowest birth rates in the country.

"Population ageing creates social, economic, and cultural challenges for individuals, families, society, and the community," Trung stated.

The ageing population will alter family structures. People are living longer, having fewer children, and facing fewer caregiving options. Currently, healthcare and mental health services for the elderly in Vietnam are underdeveloped, with most elderly people relying on their children for support. Longer post-retirement lifespans increase pressure on the healthcare system and pension funds.

The ageing population also reduces the proportion of the working-age population, changes the occupational structure, and increases the economic burden on younger workers. If these issues are not addressed adequately, they will pose significant challenges to the city's development.

Nguyen Van Vinh Chau, deputy director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, noted that to cope with the ageing population, the health sector is striving to address the low birth rate, strengthen and improve the primary healthcare system, and provide medical care for the elderly.

To improve population quality, the health sector is promoting the benefits of premarital health check-ups, prenatal screening, and newborn screening. Premarital health check-ups help couples proactively screen for, detect early, and treat reproductive health-related conditions, sexually transmitted diseases, and issues affecting fertility and childbirth.

"Raising awareness about the benefits of these health services is crucial to improving overall population health," Chau emphasised.

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