Jun 10, 2025, 9:40 AM ET

Vietnam formally ends two-child policy as aging population grows

Vietnam, which has the highest abortion rate in the world, has ended its two-child policy in an effort to reverse a declining birth rate to support its aging population.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

After more than 30 years of a forced two-child limit, Vietnam has ended its policy in hopes of increasing the birth rate to balance out the aging population.
Vietnam has the highest abortion rate in the world, and gender-selective abortions in the country have led to gender imbalance.
Many countries, including Vietnam, now face a birth rate below the replacement rate necessary to sustain a population and economy in the near future.

THE DETAILS:

According to Fox News, the communist Vietnam’s National Assembly passed an amendment that voids the two-child limit on families. Under the new amendment, which was approved on June 3, couples have been given the ‘right’ to decide when to have children, how many children to have, and how to space their children.

Like countless other nations, Vietnam has been facing a decreasing birth rate and an aging population. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), “Vietnam is in the period of population aging,” which is “progressing rapidly.”

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The switch from an aging to an “aged” population is expected to occur in 20 years.

THE BACKSTORY:

The two-child limit was implemented in the 1960s in Northern Vietnam to prevent supposed overpopulation. After North and South Vietnam were reunited, the two-child policy continued to be encouraged to bring about a “golden population,” and in 1993, it was formalized as a national policy.

As a result…

→ The birth rate in Vietnam dropped to an all-time low of 1.91 children per woman in 2024, according to state media.

→ According to UNFPA, the proportion of citizens under 15 has plummeted from 43% to less than 25% of the entire population.

FAST FACTS:

- Gender-selective abortions in Vietnam have caused a gender imbalance; globally, the balance is 105 boys born per 100 girls, but Vietnam’s reached 111 boys per 100 girls in 2024.
- Vietnam has the highest abortion rate in the world (64 out of every 1,000 pregnancies end in abortion).

WHY IT MATTERS:

A declining birth rate can have negative economic impacts on nations.

In 2000, the world’s fertility rate was 2.7 births per woman — above the replacement rate of 2.1, which is considered stable. In 2023, that rate dropped to 2.3. With numerous countries now facing a fertility rate below 2.1, including the U.S., the workforce continues to shrink.

As older generations die and there is no one born to replace them, there will be fewer young adults working to support the retired. “The implications are higher taxes, later retirements, lower real returns for savers and, possibly, government budget crises,” noted The Economist.

But beyond this, the outlet says young people have what psychologists call “fluid intelligence” — the ability to think creatively to solve problems in entirely new ways. Coupled with the experience and intelligence of older workers, positive change is born. But that positive change is threatened without the influx of younger workers due to a shrinking birth rate.

The Economist warns that this will cause “enormous missed opportunity” for innovations, cures, environmental protections, and new products.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

The world is beginning to wake up from fears of a population bomb to the reality of a population bust. Though countries are now — after decades — seeking to reverse the looming demographic winter they helped to create, it may be too little, too late.

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