(VOVworld) – On March 28, the World Bank released its report on the aging population in the East Asia and Pacific region. Vietnam was listed among those countries with an aging population in 2015.

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The number of people over 65 in Vietnam is forecast to increase from 6.3 million to 18 million by 2040, accounting for 18 percent of its population. Rapid aging in East Asia is the result of the region’s breakneck pace of economic development in recent decades, higher incomes, and better education.
Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs Nguyen Trong Dam, says: “Vietnam will develop a social support system and policies associated with people’s life cycle in order to promote people’s potential in each period. It will also try to reduce the burdens of an aging population. We have to make sure an aging population is not a problem.”

The report says 36 percent of the world’s population aged 65 and over, or 211 million people, live in East Asia, the largest share among all regions. The WB urged countries in the region to build an effective social security policy, improve their pension system, and devote more attention to primary health care.