Vietnam offers ‘baby bonus’ after ending 2-child policy

This photo, taken on June 29, 2026, shows two women pushing strollers with children along a sidewalk in Hanoi. One year after lifting its longstanding two-child limit, Vietnam is actively encouraging people to have more babies as the communist country risks getting old before it gets rich. —PHOTO BY NHAC NGUYEN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

VIETNAM — One year after lifting its long-standing two-child limit, Vietnam is offering incentives for people to have more babies as the communist country risks getting old before it gets rich.

A new population law and regulations coming into effect Wednesday extend maternity leave from six to seven months for mothers having a second child as well as offering financial help.

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If Hanoi residents Nguyen Kim Bich and her husband have a second child, she will get an extra month of maternity leave, free prenatal screenings, and a small cash bonus.

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“I could stay at home one more month with the baby, and my husband could stay home some more days,” the 32-year-old said as her young son romped in a colorful pit of plastic balls.

The new regime subsidizes prenatal and newborn screenings and establishes one-off cash bonuses of up to $228—two-thirds of the monthly average salary—for mothers who meet certain criteria.

“This is a significant shift in approach,” said Pham Thi Lan, head of population and development at the UN Population Fund in Vietnam.

READ: Gov’t urged to prepare for ‘aging population’ shift

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“We are moving from controlling family planning to focusing on population development.”

The change, in a country where communist party members faced sanctions for having a third child until last year, comes as the demographic picture darkens.

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Soaring life expectancy and declining birth rates have turned Vietnam into one of the fastest-aging countries in the world.

READ: Trend sees PH becoming an ‘aging population’ by 2030

These trends reflect the development successes of recent years, but economists warn they could lead to labor shortages and strain the social safety net.

The new population law aims to slow the demographic shift.

But for Bich and her husband Lai, an accountant and advertising professional, the inducements are not enough.

Nearly half their combined $1,000 monthly income already goes to raising their first child, and they share a small house with his parents.

‘Major slowdowns’

“The benefits are nice but not enough. One more month of leave and $75 can never attract us to have a second kid,” she said, citing how much of the bonus she would expect to qualify for.

Vietnam’s preference for two-child families dates back to the 1960s, when communist authorities in the north sought to curb explosive population growth during the war.

An official limit was adopted in 1988, but enforcement was never as strict as in neighboring China, where sterilizations and forced abortions accompanied a one-child policy lifted in 2016.

Today, Vietnam is not yet locked in a demographic death spiral like South Korea or Japan.

Its birth rate is below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman, but at 1.93 is robust compared to most developed nations.

Life expectancy meanwhile has risen to nearly 75 while the share of the population over 60 has ticked over 10 percent.

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By the middle of the century, the over-60 cohort will make up 25 percent and the population will begin to shrink, according to government projections.