Overview
- A new population law and implementing rules that took effect on July 1 extend maternity leave for second births to seven months, subsidise prenatal and newborn screenings, and provide one‑off cash bonuses of up to $228 for qualifying mothers.
- The United Nations Population Fund welcomed the policy shift from strict family planning to population development but warned that one‑off payments are unlikely to change fertility decisions on their own.
- Vietnam’s demographic picture is below replacement fertility at 1.93 children per woman, with life expectancy near 75 and more than 10 percent of people over 60 now; official projections put the over‑60 share at about 25 percent by mid‑century and population decline to follow.
- Many couples say the package will not overcome high living costs and low wages, and a recent government survey found 73 percent of married respondents said pay influenced their childbearing choices.
- Economists and the World Bank have warned that Vietnam’s relatively low GDP per capita of about $5,000 narrows the window to adapt and that sustained policies on housing, childcare and incomes are needed to avoid labour shortages and fiscal pressure.