The Role of Abortion in the Last Stage of Fertility Decline in Vietnam

Vietnam’s rapid fertility decline from 5.7 births per woman in 1979 to 2.1 in 2005 can be explained by very high rates of contraceptive use and induced abortion. Despite the overall decline, fertility rates vary considerably across the country’s 54 ethnic groups. While the majority Vietnamese (i.e., Kinh) and a few other ethnic minority groups have already completed the transition to replacement-level fertility, this is not the case for a substantial fraction of Vietnam’s disproportionately poor ethnic minority populations. The last stage of fertility decline in Vietnam, therefore, has much to do with addressing the needs of ethnic minorities. [Working Paper No. 15] URL: [http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/wp/pgy/015.pdf]