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Social issues in Vietnam

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The primary social issues in Vietnam are rural and child poverty.

Vietnam scores 37.6 in the Gini coefficient index of wealth inequality, with the top 10% accounting for 30.2% of the nation's income and the bottom 10% receiving 3.2%. In 2008, 14% of the population lived below the national poverty line of US$1.15 per day.

Rural poverty

Poverty rate by rural-urban residence, 1993-2004 (percent)
1993 1998 2002 2004
Rural 66.4 45.5 35.6 25
Urban 25.1 9.2 6.6 3.6

Gross Domestic Product grew at an average of 7.5% from 2000-2008. The country was able to reduce poverty fate from 58.1% in the 1990s to 14% in 2008. While the country grows and overall poverty drops, urban dwellers benefitted more than their rural counterparts and a wide income disparity grew between the rich and poor. The regions with the highest relative poverty include the north-west, north-central, central highlands, central coast and north-east.

These regions do not offer the resources to conduct agricultural activities, the main source of income. The poorest rural people live in remote areas with small plots of low quality land that is unsuitable for farming. Similarly, people living along the coastline are faced with harsh climate conditions that restrict farming.

Child poverty

Child poverty rate in Vietnam, 1993-2004 (percent)
1993 1998 2002 2004
Child Poverty Rate 65.2 46.4 36.4 26.7
National Poverty Rate 58.1 37.9 28.9 19.5

Child poverty declined from 65.2% in the 1993 to 26.7% in 2004. The Survey on Household Living Standards data set from 2008 showed that 1 in 3 children in Vietnam were poor. Despite the drop, child poverty remained much higher than the national poverty rate. Many children lacked access to the basic necessities of food, water, education and sanitation, especially in rural areas.

The government and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) developed a multidimensional approach to tackle child poverty. Jesper Morch, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam, said "If children grow up in poverty, they are more likely to be poor in adulthood as well. Reducing child poverty will, therefore, not only improve children's lives today, but also contribute to reducing adult poverty in the long run".

References

  1. Worldbank Data-Vietnam.Retrieved on 12 February 2012
  2. ^ VLSS 1992/93, 1997/98; VHLSS 2002, 2004
  3. UN-Vietnam-Basic Statistics.Retrieved on 12 February 2012.
  4. World Bank-Rural Poverty in Viet Nam.Retrieved on 12 February 2012.
  5. Nguyen, Ngoc P. (August 2008). Childhood Poverty in Vietnam: A Review (PDF). Young Lives (Report). Oxford Department of International Development. TECHNICAL NOTE NO. 9.
  6. Child Poverty in East Asia and Pacific - Deprivations and Disparities - A Study of Seven Countries (PDF) (Report). Bangkok: UNICEF East Asia and Pacific. October 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2012.
  7. ^ "New approach to child poverty developed for Viet Nam". The United Nations in Viet Nam (Press release). 26 November 2009. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019.
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