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| While 80 percent of Viet Nam’s nearly 80 million people reside in the countryside, the cities of Ha Noi, Haiphong, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City together make up more than 20% of the population and are now magnates for those seeking employment, education, and a better quality of life. The majority of ethnic Vietnamese, or Kinh, live in the rich delta regions of both the north and south of Viet Nam as well as along the coast and work in agriculture and farming, fishing, textiles and light industry. Approximately 56 minority groups including Thai, Cham, Muong, Dao, Tay, Nung, and Hmong reside in the central highlands regions and along border areas with Cambodia, Laos, and China. |
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| As the second most populous country in Southeast Asia, Viet Nam has developed a strong population policy. The fact that more than a third of the population has yet to reach their reproductive years places a heavy burden on a country with limited arable land, growing pressures to manage natural resources, and mixed prospects for future economic growth. |
| Over the years, impressive results
have been reported; in the early 1970s, Viet Nam's total fertility rate was around 6
children per woman. In 1987, it was just above 4, and by 1997 it declined to 2.19 children
per woman. The population growth rate currently hovers around 2 percent per year.
Increasing access to contraception, as well as easy availability of abortion services,
helps to manage population growth rates. Nevertheless, evidence that the burgeoning youth population will dramatically shape the future of Viet Nam is everywhere, especially in the major cities. Internet cafes offer minute-rated access to email, web sites, and chat forums; music and video shops offer the latest CDs, video disks and tapes; street-side fashion shops offer copies of the latest fashions from Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea. Demand for the popular Honda Dream and flashy Piazzo motorbikes is up and English language training schools can’t supply enough talented teachers to meet student enrollment. Western-style cafes and restaurants are "in" as are chic discotheques where the action starts at midnight. |
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| Meanwhile, time seems
to have stood still for the majority of the Vietnamese. In the cities and the countryside
there are more bicycles than motor vehicles; a limited transportation and communications
infrastructure; and manual-labor, aided by the occasional water buffalo or gas-powered
single engine machine, provides much of the manpower for the entire agricultural
production cycle. Join us as we take a closer
look at Viet Nam; share perspectives of both Vietnamese and expatriates, and attempt to
bring you closer to the heart of Pathfinder International’s work in Viet Nam. |
