VIET NAM: Number of senior citizens increases

. HO CHI MINH City, Viet Nam / Thanh Nien Daily / January 1, 2009 By Minh Ngoc The proportion of Vietnam’s population defined as elderly rose to 9.45 percent in 2007 from 7.2 percent in 1989, according to the National Committee for the Elderly. The age group is forecast to make up 16.8 percent of the population by 2029, an ASEAN forum in Hanoi on aging and services for the elderly heard Monday. The committee told the two-day forum 73 percent of Vietnam’s elderly population lived in rural areas, but only 21 percent received pensions. Up to 70 percent of Vietnam’s senior citizens do not have savings and more than 23 percent of them live in poverty. Vietnam’s population is now 86 million. Copyright © 2004 Thanh Nien News