A baby was born in the new year of the Cat (Photo: VNA)

With the birth of the 100 millionth citizen in mid-April, Vietnam will officially become one of 15 countries in the world and one of three countries in Southeast Asia, to have a population of 100 million or over.

Dr. Pham Vu Hoang, deputy head of the General Office for Population and Family Planning under the Ministry of Health, said: “Vietnam is in the golden age of population period with nearly 68 million people in the working age, which is a great advantage. But, Vietnam has also entered the period of an aging population since 2011 and this period is expected to end by 2038 with elderly people accounting for 20 percent of the population."

"At present, the population of elderly people (over 60) is 12 million. An aging population will be a great challenge in the future. Besides, we will likely to face other challenges, including gender inequality and population density,” said Hoang.