Men with two children, whether their wife is alive or divorced, will no longer be prioritized for purchasing social housing. The latest draft of the revised Population Law specifies that only men raising two children without a wife (due to her passing) are eligible for this priority, aiming to close potential legal loopholes.
Mr. Lê Thanh Dũng, Director of the Department of Population (Ministry of Health), shared this update on November 7th. This adjustment is a key part of policies encouraging families to have two children, addressing Vietnam’s sharply declining replacement fertility rate.
“The Population Law cannot address every desire of over 100 million citizens, but it strives to meet their needs as effectively as possible,” stated Mr. Dũng.
Previously, the draft proposed prioritizing social housing for women with two children or men with two children without a wife (due to divorce or death). However, concerns about potential exploitation through fake divorces led the drafting committee to refine the criteria, limiting eligibility to men with two children whose wife has deceased.
The latest Population Law draft restricts social housing priority to men with two children whose wife has deceased. (Illustrative image: AI-generated)
According to Mr. Dũng, this revision aims to “seal legal gaps” while providing tangible support to single parents. “The law maintains its objectives but has been refined for clarity and practicality,” he added.
Echoing this, Ms. Đặng Quỳnh Thư, Head of the Population Size and Family Planning Department (Ministry of Health), emphasized that the law upholds individuals’ rights to decide on childbirth timing, number, and spacing. However, the state continues to promote maintaining the replacement fertility rate.
Incentives include an additional month of maternity leave for women with two children and five days of paternity leave for men when their wife gives birth. Financial support is also available for ethnic minority women, those having two children before 35, or residents in low-fertility areas.
The draft allows localities to expand social benefits for two-child families, such as tuition reductions, childcare service priority, and preschool education support, based on socioeconomic conditions. These measures aim to help families “settle down to focus on childbirth and child-rearing.”
Vietnam’s average fertility rate dropped to 1.91 children per woman in 2024, the lowest in history and down from 2.11 in 2021. In cities like Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Thua Thien-Hue, and Dong Thap, rates are below 1.5—far under the 2.1 replacement threshold.
Experts warn that low or zero childbirth rates pose not only demographic but also national development challenges, risking “aging before affluence.” Thus, even small incentives like social housing priority are seen as urgent solutions to curb declining birthrates.
This Population Law draft shifts focus from family planning to population and development, encompassing four key policy areas: sustaining replacement fertility, reducing gender imbalance at birth, adapting to population aging, and improving population quality.
The law is currently under review by the 15th National Assembly at its 10th session.
