Vietnam Ends Decades-Old Two-Child Limit Policy To Stem Declining Birth Rates

Last Updated:June 04, 2025, 07:59 IST

Vietnam has abolished its 37-year-old two-child policy to address declining birth rates. Couples can now freely decide the number and years of spacing between child births.

An AI-generated image of a newborn (News18)

Vietnam has scrapped its long-standing two-child limit policy, news agency AFP quoted state media reports.

The policy, which came into effect 37 years ago, limited families on having more than two children.

The restriction was initially introduced in 1988, when the total fertility rate was over four births per woman.

According to Bloomberg, the policy was scrapped as the country grapples with a declining birth rate, thus posing a demographic crunch that could undermine future growth prospects.

The new regulation was approved by the Assembly Standing Committee in Hanoi on Tuesday, allowing couples to decide on the number of children they want to have.

The regulation also allows couples to decide when to have children and the spacing between two births.

The child-limit law in Vietnam allowed couples to have no more than two children per family.

Violators of the law were asked to pay a penalty, which could also include a reduced bonus or dismissal from their position, reports suggest.

A report with Bloomberg claims Vietnam’s birth rate sank to a record low in December, with the total fertility rate falling to 1.91 children per woman, thus marking the third consecutive year it has dropped below the replacement level.

Last year, the health ministry proposed amending the law to allow each couple and single parent to decide how many children to have and the interval between births, it claimed.

News world Vietnam Ends Decades-Old Two-Child Limit Policy To Stem Declining Birth Rates