From March 20th, no disciplinary action will be taken against party members who have a third child.

The Central Inspection Commission has just issued Guidance 15/2025 amending and supplementing Guidance 05/2022 of the Central Inspection Commission on the implementation of some provisions in Regulation 69/2022 of the Politburo on disciplinary action against violating Party organizations and Party members.

Guidance 15 omits points 8.1 and 8.2 of section III of Guidance 05. Point 8 of Guidance 05 stipulates the disciplinary action against Party members who violate regulations on population policy.

Specifically, point 8.1 stipulates that if a party member violates the regulations by implementing family planning measures that would negatively impact maternal health (with confirmation from a district-level hospital or equivalent), the disciplinary action may be mitigated.

Point 8.2 stipulates that for Party members who intentionally or coerce others into failing to implement family planning, a harsher disciplinary measure should be considered.

Guidance 15 also supplements some content in Clause 8, Section III of Guidance 05. Specifically, it states that no action will be taken against the act stipulated in Clause 2, Article 1 of Ordinance 08/2008 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly amending Article 10 of the 2003 Population Ordinance, "having one or two children, except in special cases as prescribed by the Government".

With this change, from March 20th, having a third child is no longer a violation subject to Party disciplinary action.

Previously, the Central Party Office sent a document to the Central Inspection Committee, the Party Committee of the Government, the Party Committee of the National Assembly, and the Party Committee of the Ministry of Health, informing them of the Politburo's opinion on the preliminary review of the implementation of Resolution No. 21 on population work in the new situation and the amendment of Party and State regulations related to population policy.

In this regard, the Politburo assigned the Central Inspection Committee to advise on and amend the regulations of the Central Committee, the Politburo, and the Secretariat related to handling violations of population policy, and to proactively amend Guidance No. 05 in a way that does not impose disciplinary action on cases of having a third child or more, in line with the amendment of legal regulations (without retroactive application to cases that have already been disciplined).

The Ministry of Health has submitted to the competent authorities a proposal to abolish outdated regulations on handling violations of population policy, initially abolishing penalties for violations related to the number of children.

According to the draft Ordinance amending Article 10 of the Population Ordinance, the Ministry of Health proposes that each couple and individual decide on the timing of childbirth, the number of children, and the spacing between births. This proposal aims to address the low birth rate and the significant disparity in birth rates between regions and groups.

According to the Ministry of Health, Vietnam's fertility rate is among the top five lowest in Southeast Asia. Specifically, the national fertility rate is trending downwards, falling below the replacement level, from 2.11 children per woman in 2021 to 2.01 in 2022. This index continued to decline to 1.96 children per woman in 2023 and 1.91 in 2024 – the lowest in history – and is projected to continue falling in the following years.

Forecasts indicate that the birth rate will continue to decline, with Vietnam ending its demographic dividend period in 2039, the working-age population peaking in 2042, and population growth beginning to be negative after 2054.