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HANOI, July 19 (Xinhua) -- The number of people who are 65 years old or older in Vietnam is expected to almost triple than current figure to hit 18.4 million by 2040, said World Bank (WB) Vietnam on Tuesday.
The bank made the announcement at a launching ceremony of a publication named "Taking Stock: An Update on Vietnam's Recent Economic Developments July 2016" held in capital Hanoi on Tuesday.
According to the report with special focus on "Promoting healthy and productive aging in Vietnam," today, there are only around 6.5 million people in Vietnam who are over 65 years old.
"The speed of aging in Vietnam is among the fastest globally to date," said Philip O'Keefe, lead economist for the WB, adding that Vietnam is undergoing this demographic transition at lower income than most currently old countries.
While looking at Vietnam's rapid aging pace, the economist said population aging will have wide ranging implications on labor markets, and pose new challenges to policy makers, employers and the whole population.
The report suggested that in order to mitigate these impacts, Vietnam is required to implement policy actions in labor markets, pension system as well as healthcare and long-term care system.
