Experts have warned that the transitional period from an agingpopulation to an aged population in Vietnam will be about 18-20 years,much shorter than in other countries such as France (115 years), Sweden(85 years), the US (70 years) and Japan (26 years).
According to the latest national population survey, there were more than8.6 million elderly people of 60 years old and above in 2011,accounting for nearly 10 percent of the population, while the rate ofover 65-year-old was 7 percent. A country is considered to have an agingpopulation when the rate of those 60 years old and above reaches 10percent or the rate of 65-year-old and above people is 7 percent. Oncethe rates reach 20 percent and 14 percent, respectively, the countrywill enter the period of aged population.
The CountryDirector of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam, Arthur Arkensaid while population aging is taking place in all regions and allcountries, Vietnam records one of the fastest aging rates in Asia.
Together with the fast rising number of elderly people,the number of those living alone also increases. In 1993, 80 percent ofelderly people lived with their families, but the rate has dropped to72.3 percent at present and continues to fall.
Alongsidethe growing ageing group, the birth rate in the country is steadilydecreasing and has fallen below the replacement level (2.11 percent in2005, 2.03 percent in 2009 and 1.99 percent in 2012). While this is agreat accomplishment of the National Target Programme on Population andFamily Planning over the past year, it also means that the country willhave to face great challenges in meeting the needs of the elderlypopulation in the context of falling number of people in the working agegroup.
An ageing population has profound impacts on theelderly people themselves, their families, the community and society as awhole, posing a multitude of problems, the biggest of them are healthcare and social security for this group. According to Dr. Pham Thang,Director of the National Institute Gerontology, the group of elderlypeople, while accounting for only 10-20 percent of the population, uses70 percent of a nation’s total medical expenses and 50 percent ofmedicine consumption.
It is notable that only 4.8 percentof elderly Vietnamese enjoy very good or good health, while as many as65.4 percent are weak or very weak. More worrisome, their access tohealth care services is limited, with remarkable gap between urban andrural areas. More than 26 percent of elderly people in the country donot have any kind of health insurance and more than 51 percent cannotafford treatment costs and as a result, refraining from seekingtreatment. At the same time, the health care network in Vietnam isnot prepared to cope with arising problems relating to care for elderlypeople.
Statistics also show that only 35.6 percent ofelderly people in urban areas have some kinds of pensions or Stateallowance to live on, while the rate is only 21.9 percent in ruralareas.
Vietnam has entered the group of middle incomecountries in 2010 and is keeping up an impressive growth rate whileworking hard to fulfill all Millennium Development Goals by 2015.However, even when the country accomplishes all MDGs by 2015, it willstill have to deal with challenges brought by an ageing population. Itis not early now to start working on policies to cope with the loomingproblems.-VNA
According to the latest national population survey, there were more than8.6 million elderly people of 60 years old and above in 2011,accounting for nearly 10 percent of the population, while the rate ofover 65-year-old was 7 percent. A country is considered to have an agingpopulation when the rate of those 60 years old and above reaches 10percent or the rate of 65-year-old and above people is 7 percent. Oncethe rates reach 20 percent and 14 percent, respectively, the countrywill enter the period of aged population.
The CountryDirector of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam, Arthur Arkensaid while population aging is taking place in all regions and allcountries, Vietnam records one of the fastest aging rates in Asia.
Together with the fast rising number of elderly people,the number of those living alone also increases. In 1993, 80 percent ofelderly people lived with their families, but the rate has dropped to72.3 percent at present and continues to fall.
Alongsidethe growing ageing group, the birth rate in the country is steadilydecreasing and has fallen below the replacement level (2.11 percent in2005, 2.03 percent in 2009 and 1.99 percent in 2012). While this is agreat accomplishment of the National Target Programme on Population andFamily Planning over the past year, it also means that the country willhave to face great challenges in meeting the needs of the elderlypopulation in the context of falling number of people in the working agegroup.
An ageing population has profound impacts on theelderly people themselves, their families, the community and society as awhole, posing a multitude of problems, the biggest of them are healthcare and social security for this group. According to Dr. Pham Thang,Director of the National Institute Gerontology, the group of elderlypeople, while accounting for only 10-20 percent of the population, uses70 percent of a nation’s total medical expenses and 50 percent ofmedicine consumption.
It is notable that only 4.8 percentof elderly Vietnamese enjoy very good or good health, while as many as65.4 percent are weak or very weak. More worrisome, their access tohealth care services is limited, with remarkable gap between urban andrural areas. More than 26 percent of elderly people in the country donot have any kind of health insurance and more than 51 percent cannotafford treatment costs and as a result, refraining from seekingtreatment. At the same time, the health care network in Vietnam isnot prepared to cope with arising problems relating to care for elderlypeople.
Statistics also show that only 35.6 percent ofelderly people in urban areas have some kinds of pensions or Stateallowance to live on, while the rate is only 21.9 percent in ruralareas.
Vietnam has entered the group of middle incomecountries in 2010 and is keeping up an impressive growth rate whileworking hard to fulfill all Millennium Development Goals by 2015.However, even when the country accomplishes all MDGs by 2015, it willstill have to deal with challenges brought by an ageing population. Itis not early now to start working on policies to cope with the loomingproblems.-VNA
