Vietnam Population

Vietnam has completed its fertility transition quickly, with the birth rate now around the replacement level after rapid economic development. The concern increasingly heard is that the country may grow old before it grows rich, as ageing accelerates while incomes are still moderate. For now a large working-age population underpins its manufacturing boom, but that advantage has a clear expiry date.

Vietnam is home to about 102 million people in 2026, the 16th largest population of any country. Set in South-Eastern Asia, its demographic path this century turns on the balance of births, deaths and migration. Population density stands at about 326 people for every square kilometre of land.

The defining marker in Vietnam's future is its peak, expected around 2050 at about 110 million. After that the population eases back toward 92.0 million by 2100, having passed through 110 million at mid-century. The 100 million threshold was crossed near 2023.

With fertility near 1.90, just under the 2.1 replacement mark, natural increase is fading.

Half of Vietnam is currently younger than about 33, but by 2100 the median age is projected to reach around 49, even as life expectancy improves from about 75 years. An older population gradually reshapes the labour force, pension systems and healthcare demand.

These figures follow the UN's medium variant, the most widely cited scenario. The low and high variants, driven mainly by differing fertility assumptions, fan out into a wide range by 2100, so treat each number as a central estimate rather than a precise forecast.