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Vietnam abolishes two-child limit after fertility rate falls below replacement level

The reforms grant couples full autonomy over family planning with officials rolling out financial incentives, free child healthcare, tripled fines for sex-selective abortions.

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FILE -A billboard campaigning for each family to have two children in an effort to improve the birth rate stands along the street in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
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Vietnam has experienced historically low birth rates in the last three years, with the total fertility rate dropping to 1.91 children per woman in 2024

Overview

  • The National Assembly lifted the decades-old two-child cap on June 4, allowing couples unrestricted choice over number and spacing of children.
  • Vietnam’s total fertility rate declined from 2.11 births per woman in 2021 to a record low of 1.91 in 2024, marking three straight years below the 2.1 replacement threshold.
  • Big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have seen the steepest drops in birth rates as rising living costs deter young families.
  • Local authorities have introduced cash payments of about $120 for women who have two children before age 35, along with six months of paid maternity leave and free healthcare for children under six.
  • The health ministry has proposed tripling fines for sex-selective abortions to roughly $3,800 in an effort to correct a persistent imbalance of 112 boys born for every 100 girls.