In-depth
Vietnamese youth ranked among weakest in region
  • | dtinews.vn, TP | March 15, 2017 01:51 PM

The physical strength of young Vietnamese is falling behind their peers in Asia according to a report by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

On March 14, the National Committee on Youth of Vietnam co-operated with the Ministry of Home Affairs to hold a seminar on youth policies.

  

The National Committee on Youth of Vietnam co-operated with the Ministry of Home Affairs to hold a seminar on youth policies

At the seminar, Vu Dang Minh, general director at the Department of Youth Affairs under the Ministry of Home Affairs, mentioned a national report on Vietnamese youth jointly conducted by the ministry and United Nations Population Fund in Vietnam in 2015.

According to Minh, as of 2014 there were over 25 million Vietnamese aged between 16 to 30 years of age, accounting for 27.7% of the country’s total population. This shows that Vietnam is experiencing the so-called golden population structure and young people play an import role in the national socio-economic development.

Male and female literacy rates stand at 96.7% and 95.8% respectively.

However, only an average 4.3% of Vietnamese youths have college and university degrees.

The report also indicated that Vietnamese youth are ranked lower than that of regional and world levels in terms of health. The average height of male Vietnamese youths is a just 164.4cm, 13cm lower than the global average, while that of female youths is 153.4cm, 10cm lower than the world average.

Vietnamese young people are 8cm shorter compared to Japanese and South Korean peers, 7cm shorter than Chinese and 5-6cm shorter than Thais and Singaporeans.

Meanwhile, health experts in Vietnam have expressed their concern about the increasing number of young people who drink alcohol and smoke.

A survey on beer drinking among students and young people in Vietnam carried out by the Ho Chi Minh City University of Education in 2014 showed that many people start drinking at an early age and have enjoy beer drinking.

The survey was targeted at 670 young men, including 470 in Ho Chi Minh City and 200 in the central region.

Sixty percent of those polled in the survey were students and the remaining were young adults.

Most of them said drinking was “an integral part of social etiquette and a proper way to behave at work” as well as “helping them build friendships.”

Leave your comment on this story