Vietnamese people's life expectancy reaches new milestones after 80 years
According to the latest data from the General Statistics Office, in 2024, the average life expectancy of Vietnamese people will reach 74.7 years, an increase of 0.2 years compared to the previous year. This figure is higher than the world average of 73.4 years in 2023.
Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that Vietnam's average life expectancy is currently higher than many countries with equivalent income. In large and developed cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, people's life expectancy has even exceeded 76.
According to the World Health Organization, the life expectancy of Vietnamese people is increasing but the healthy life expectancy is only at 65.4 years old (men are 62.8 years old; women are 68 years old). This means that the elderly in our country often have to live about 8-10 years of their life in a state of illness or poor health.
The cause is pointed out to come from three main groups. First, the diet is not reasonable. The rate of malnutrition and rented wheat is still high, while the rate of overweight and obesity is increasing rapidly.
Second, the burden of non-communicable diseases is increasing, accounting for more than 2/3 of the causes of disease and death. The main causes are smoking habits, alcohol abuse, eating a lot of salt, less green vegetables and fruits, and a sedentary lifestyle. Currently, about 1/5 of the population is overweight, 44% of adults have high cholesterol.
Third, environmental pollution and climate change also increase diseases and hospitalizations, putting great pressure on the health system.
Vietnam faces challenges to care for nearly 27 million elderly people by 2049
The population aging rate in Vietnam is happening rapidly, and it is predicted that the golden population period will soon end. Since 2011, Vietnam has officially entered the aging stage and has become one of the countries with the fastest aging rate in the world. By 2038, our country will enter an aging population, with one in five people over 60 years old.
Mr. Le Thanh Dung - Director of the Department of Population (Ministry of Health) - said: This trend poses many major challenges for economic growth, social security, the labor market and infrastructure planning. In healthcare, the burden of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, blood pressure, diabetes, and dementia will become increasingly severe, requiring long-term care. At the same time, the decline in the young workforce has caused the economic burden, especially the responsibility of nurturing and caring for the elderly, to weigh on the shoulders of those of working age.
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Trung Anh - Director of the Central Geriatric Hospital - commented that population aging has become a major challenge not only for Vietnam but also globally. Over the past 10 years, the rapid aging rate has put Vietnam in the group of 10 fastest aging countries in the world.
According to him, the most obvious result is the increasing pressure on the health system. The demand for health care for the elderly has increased sharply, especially in the treatment of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dementia... causing many hospitals and medical facilities to be overloaded. Meanwhile, human resources and equipment are still limited, leading to a gap between actual needs and capability to meet. Medical costs for the elderly have also increased, creating a burden on the Health Insurance Fund and the State budget.
