On December 18th, 2020 in Hanoi, the General Statistics Office of Viet Nam (GSO) held a press conference to results of the in-depth analysis of the 2019 Viet Nam population and housing census. Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong – Director General of GSO and Ms. Naomi Kitahara – Chief Representative of UNFPA in Vietnam co-chaired the conference. Participants attended the meeting included Ms. Le Thi Yen – National Assembly member, Standing member of the National Assembly’s Committee for Social Affairs; leaders of the GSO; Leadership representatives of departments of GSO together with representatives from ministries and agencies; leaders of provincial Statistical Offices and representatives of international organizations in Vietnam.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong – General Director of GSO delivered her opening speech, welcomed and thanked the cooperation and support of the United Nations Population Fund; the delegates of the ministries, branches, the leaders of the 63 provincial Statistical Offices, the officials and employees of the statistical system for their enthusiastic and responsible participation in the whole process of the 2019 Population and Housing Census.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, the 2019 Population and Housing Census was implemented in accordance with Decision No. 772 / QD-TTg dated June 26th, 2018 of the Prime Minister. This is the fifth Population and Housing Census of Viet Nam since reunification in 1975. The results of the 2019 Population and Housing Census were announced on 19th December, 2019. Following these results, the General Statistics Office of Viet Nam carried out an in-depth analysis of several population topics, including fertility, sex imbalance at birth, migration and urbanization, population ageing and projection of Viet Nam’s population for the 2019−2069 period.

At the conference, delegates heard presentations from domestic and foreign experts, specifically: Vice Prof, Dr Giang Thanh Long, National Economics University presented the results of aging analysis and Dr. Christophe Z Guilmoto, demographic expert, Institute for Population and Development Studies (CEPED/IRD), Paris submitted Presentation of Analytical Results on the Sex Ratio at Birth.

On the side of the GSO, there are also presentations to the delegates. Ms. Vu Thi Thu Thuy – Director of Population and Labor Statistics Department presented Analysis results of fertility; Mr. Nguyen Huy Minh – Deputy Director of Population and Labor Statistics Department presented the results of analysis on migration and urbanization; Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai – Deputy Director of Population and Labor Statistics Department gave a presentation on the population forecast of Viet Nam up to 2069.

According to the in-depth analysis of the 2019 Population and Housing Census, the current fertility of Viet Nam is around the replacement fertility level and will contribute to the reduction of population growth rate in the future. The annual population growth rate for the next 10 years is expected to be less than 1%. The future population structure will change towards aged population and shortages of men in certain age groups. This will have a dramatic impact on the workforce and contribute to emerging social issues. In addition, migration trends and the impact of migration on urbanization and socioeconomic development will also become emerging issues in the near future. Data and analysis based on the 2019 Census and related studies will provide evidence for use in the formulation and planning of national socioeconomic development policy. Also during the meeting, the General Statistics Office of Viet Nam introduced the Census Data page and the Data Warehouse for users to exploit and use.

Participants discussed the main contents of the Conference on the results of the 2019 Population and Housing Census in-depth research.

Speaking at the closed session of the Conference, General Director Nguyen Thi Huong highly appreciated the serious working spirit; the support, coordination and close coordination between the General Statistics Office of Viet Nam with ministries, agencies, international organizations, related agencies and departments contributed to the success of the Conference.