Govt scraps two-child limit as birth rate declines

Vietnam's communist government has scrapped its long-standing policy of limiting families to two children, state media said yesterday, as the country battles to reverse a declining birth rate.

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The country banned couples from having more than two children in 1988, but a family’s size is now a decision for each individual couple, Vietnam News Agency said.

The country has experienced historically low birth rates in the last three years. The total fertility rate dropped to 1.91 children per woman in 2024, below replacement level, the Ministry of Health said this year.

Birth rates fell from 2.11 children per woman in 2021, to 2.01 in 2022 and 1.96 in 2023.

This trend is most pronounced in urbanised, economically developed regions, especially in big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as the cost of living rises.