Commentary: Vietnam’s Reversal Marks End to Compulsory Birth Restrictions Worldwide
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Vietnam has effectively dismantled its decades-old limits on family size, a move that experts say leaves no country in the world with state-enforced restrictions on the number of children a couple can have.
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Jun. 3 approved an amendment to Article 10 of the Population Ordinance, which took effect immediately. The revised law grants couples and individuals the autonomy to decide the timing, number, and spacing of their children, based on factors such as age, health, income, parenting capacity, educational and work conditions.
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- 1961：
- South Korea introduced birth control policies.
- 1971：
- Singapore’s TFR was 3.02.
- 1975：
- Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s government launched a mass sterilization campaign in India; India’s TFR was 5.2, and the population was 620 million.
- 1977：
- Public backlash against compulsory sterilization contributed to Indira Gandhi’s electoral defeat in India.
- 1978：
- Vietnam’s population surpassed 50 million.
- 1983：
- South Korea’s total fertility rate (TFR) reached replacement level.
- 1984：
- Annual births in Vietnam peaked at 1.92 million.
- By 1985：
- Singapore’s TFR dropped to 1.61.
- 1986：
- Singapore reversed course and adopted pro-natalist strategies.
- 1990：
- South Korea’s TFR fell to 1.6.
- 1996：
- South Korea shifted demographic policy focus from population control to quality and welfare.
- 1998：
- Vietnam’s total fertility rate (TFR) first dipped to replacement level.
- 2005：
- South Korea commenced pro-natalist policies.
- 2023：
- Vietnam’s population surpassed 100 million, according to United Nations data.
- 2024：
- Vietnam’s total fertility rate (TFR) fell to 1.91, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Health.
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Jun. 13, 2025, Issue 22
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