People in Vietnam can currently expect to live for roughly 75 years on average. The latest figure published by Vietnam's Ministry of Health puts life expectancy at birth at 74.8 years in 2025, while the General Statistics Office recorded 74.7 years in 2024.
The national average hides an important gender difference. Official 2024 data show life expectancy of 72.3 years for men and 77.3 years for women, a gap of five years.
Life expectancy is also different from healthy life expectancy. Vietnam's Ministry of Health reports that people spend approximately 67 years in good health on average, meaning that longer lives do not necessarily mean all of those additional years are lived without illness or disability.
What is the life expectancy in Vietnam?
According to Vietnam's Ministry of Health, average life expectancy at birth reached 74.8 years in 2025.
The General Statistics Office reported a very similar figure for the previous year:
- 2023: 74.5 years
- 2024: 74.7 years
- 2025: 74.8 years according to the Ministry of Health
The 2024 Population and Housing Mid-Term Census also found that life expectancy had increased by 1.1 years compared with 2019.
These figures indicate a gradual upward trend rather than a sudden change.
Life expectancy at birth is a statistical estimate of how long a newborn would live if current mortality patterns continued throughout their life. It is not a prediction of the exact age an individual person will reach.
How long do men and women live in Vietnam?
Women live substantially longer than men in Vietnam.
The General Statistics Office reported the following figures for 2024:
- Men: 72.3 years
- Women: 77.3 years
- Overall population: 74.7 years
That represents a difference of approximately five years between women and men.
The same census data show that life expectancy increased for both sexes between 2019 and 2024. Male life expectancy rose by 1.3 years, while female life expectancy increased by 1.0 year.
Gender differences in longevity are not unique to Vietnam. They can reflect a combination of biological factors, health behaviours, occupational exposure, smoking, alcohol consumption, injuries and differences in healthcare use.
Vietnam's census data also show one practical example of differing mortality risks: among deaths attributed to road traffic accidents, the proportion among men was almost three times that among women.
Is life expectancy in Vietnam increasing?
Yes. The long-term direction has been upward.
Vietnam's official figures show that average life expectancy increased from approximately 73.6 years in 2019 to 74.7 years in 2024, based on the 1.1-year increase reported by the General Statistics Office.
The Ministry of Health then reported a further small increase to 74.8 years in 2025.
This improvement has occurred alongside broader changes in healthcare, disease control, living conditions and access to medical services.
Vietnam's health insurance coverage has also expanded. The Ministry of Health reported that health insurance coverage increased from 90.9% of the population in 2020 to 95.2% in 2025.
Insurance coverage alone does not determine life expectancy, but wider access to healthcare is one part of the country's broader health development.
For people trying to understand healthcare access in the country, Sick in Vietnam? What to do and where to go to get better explains the practical differences between clinics, hospitals and emergency care.
What is healthy life expectancy in Vietnam?
Living longer and living longer in good health are not the same thing.
Vietnam's Ministry of Health reported in 2026 that average life expectancy in 2025 was 74.8 years, while the average number of years lived in good health was approximately 67 years.
This leaves a gap of roughly eight years between total lifespan and healthy lifespan at a population level.
Healthy life expectancy is designed to estimate how many years a person can expect to live in generally good health after accounting for disease and disability.
It is particularly relevant as Vietnam's population ages. Extending life expectancy remains important, but increasing the number of healthy years is becoming an equally important public-health objective.
Why has life expectancy improved in Vietnam?
There is no single cause behind Vietnam's rising life expectancy.
The General Statistics Office and Ministry of Health point to improvements in medicine and healthcare, while the country's broader development has also changed the conditions in which people live.
Important factors include:
- Better access to healthcare
- Expanded health insurance coverage
- Improvements in maternal and child healthcare
- Vaccination programmes
- Better diagnosis and treatment of disease
- Improvements in living standards
- Better control of infectious diseases
- Development of both public and private healthcare services
Vietnam has also developed increasingly sophisticated specialist care in major cities.
Patients in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang can access a wide range of diagnostic, surgical and specialist services. How to Choose an English-Speaking Clinic in Vietnam explains some practical factors to check when choosing a provider.
What are the main health challenges affecting longevity?
A national average close to 75 years does not mean Vietnam has eliminated major health risks.
As infectious-disease control and healthcare have improved, Vietnam also faces the growing burden associated with chronic diseases and an ageing population.
Long-term health outcomes can be affected by conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease and other non-communicable diseases.
Lifestyle and environmental factors also matter. Smoking, alcohol use, road traffic injuries and air pollution can all influence population health.
The General Statistics Office found that 92.4% of deaths recorded in the 12 months before the 2024 mid-term census were attributed to disease or old age. Among deaths from causes other than disease or old age, road traffic accidents were the leading category reported in the census results.
For an overview of health problems that commonly affect people in the country, 10 Most Common Illnesses in Vietnam covers several important conditions.
How does Vietnam compare with other countries?
International comparisons require some caution because organisations can publish different estimates depending on their methodology and data sources.
Vietnam's own official statistics put life expectancy at 74.7 years in 2024 and 74.8 years in 2025.
The World Bank's country comparison data also place Vietnam at approximately 75 years of life expectancy at birth in 2024 when values are rounded to whole years.
That puts Vietnam within a range seen across several middle-income countries, although life expectancy remains below some higher-income Asian economies.
The more useful point is that Vietnam has experienced a substantial long-term improvement in longevity and is continuing to set higher national health targets.
The country has also developed a larger private healthcare market. Medical Tourism in Vietnam: A Step-by-Step Guide provides additional context on healthcare travel and treatment planning in Vietnam.
How long can someone who is already 60 expect to live?
Life expectancy at birth should not be interpreted as an age at which everyone is expected to die.
Someone who has already reached 60 has survived many of the mortality risks that affect the life-expectancy-at-birth calculation.
World Bank data for 2024 estimate life expectancy at age 60 in Vietnam at approximately 23.7 additional years.
Statistically, that corresponds to an average lifespan extending into the early 80s for someone who has already reached age 60.
This does not mean every 60-year-old will live another 23.7 years. It is a population average derived from prevailing mortality patterns.
Individual longevity varies according to genetics, health, lifestyle, environment, healthcare access and many other factors.
Is Vietnam's population ageing?
Yes. Increasing life expectancy is occurring alongside broader demographic ageing.
This creates new healthcare priorities. A health system designed partly around acute illness and infectious diseases also needs to manage more chronic disease, cancer, cardiovascular conditions, dementia, rehabilitation and long-term care.
Vietnam's Ministry of Health specifically identifies adaptation to population ageing as a major objective for the 2025 to 2030 period.
The issue is not simply whether people live longer, but whether healthcare and social systems can support people as they spend a larger proportion of their lives at older ages.
Does where you live in Vietnam affect life expectancy?
National life expectancy is an average and does not mean every province or population group has identical outcomes.
Healthcare access, income, environmental conditions, occupational risks and the availability of specialist medical services vary across Vietnam.
Major cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have large hospital networks and more specialist services, while some rural areas require patients to travel farther for advanced diagnosis or treatment.
At the same time, urban residents can face other health risks, including traffic exposure and air pollution.
National averages should therefore not be interpreted as identical life expectancy for every city, province or individual.
Is healthcare access improving in Vietnam?
Several indicators suggest that access has expanded.
The Ministry of Health reports health insurance coverage of 95.2% in 2025, compared with 90.9% in 2020. Vietnam also continues to develop private healthcare alongside its public hospital system.
The quality and availability of care nevertheless vary significantly between providers and locations.
People requiring routine or specialist treatment should consider factors such as the doctor's qualifications, hospital capabilities, language support, insurance arrangements and whether a facility can manage complications.
What is Vietnam's life expectancy target for 2030?
Vietnam wants the upward trend to continue.
For the 2025 to 2030 period, the Ministry of Health has set a target for average life expectancy of 75 to 75.5 years.
It also wants healthy life expectancy to reach at least 68 years.
The distinction is important. The objective is not only to add years to people's lives, but also to increase the number of those years spent in good health.
This will become increasingly important as Vietnam adapts to an ageing population and a greater burden of chronic illness.
Why do different websites give different figures for Vietnam?
It is common to find slightly different life expectancy figures for the same country.
The reason is usually methodology rather than an error. Vietnam's General Statistics Office uses national demographic data, while organisations such as the World Bank and WHO may use harmonised international datasets and statistical models designed to make countries more comparable.
There can also be differences in publication dates. A source may still display an older estimate while a Vietnamese government agency has already published a newer national figure.
For the latest domestic figure used in this guide, Vietnam's Ministry of Health reports 74.8 years in 2025. For international comparisons, sources such as the World Bank can be useful because they apply consistent methods across countries.
So, how long do people live in Vietnam?
The simplest current answer is about 75 years.
Vietnam's official figures show:
- 74.8 years average life expectancy in 2025
- 74.7 years in 2024
- 72.3 years for men in 2024
- 77.3 years for women in 2024
- Approximately 67 healthy years according to the Ministry of Health
Vietnam has made steady progress in longevity, but the next challenge is increasingly about healthy ageing rather than lifespan alone.
The Ministry of Health's target of 75 to 75.5 years of life expectancy and at least 68 healthy years by 2030 reflects that shift.
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions below cover common searches about life expectancy in Vietnam.
What is the life expectancy in Vietnam in 2025?
Vietnam's Ministry of Health reports average life expectancy at birth of 74.8 years in 2025. This is slightly higher than the 74.7 years recorded by the General Statistics Office for 2024.
What is the life expectancy for men in Vietnam?
According to Vietnam's General Statistics Office, male life expectancy at birth was 72.3 years in 2024.
What is the life expectancy for women in Vietnam?
Female life expectancy at birth was 77.3 years in 2024, according to the General Statistics Office, around five years higher than the figure for men.
What is healthy life expectancy in Vietnam?
Vietnam's Ministry of Health reports that people currently live approximately 67 years in good health on average, compared with total life expectancy of 74.8 years in 2025.
Is life expectancy increasing in Vietnam?
Yes. Official data show life expectancy increased by 1.1 years between 2019 and 2024, reaching 74.7 years in 2024 and 74.8 years in 2025.
What is Vietnam's life expectancy target for 2030?
Vietnam's Ministry of Health has set a target of 75 to 75.5 years of average life expectancy by 2030, with healthy life expectancy reaching at least 68 years.
Sources
- General Statistics Office of Vietnam: Socio-Economic Situation in the Fourth Quarter and 2024
- General Statistics Office of Vietnam: Results of the 2024 Population and Housing Mid-Term Census
- Vietnam Ministry of Health: Healthcare Development and 2025 Life Expectancy
- Vietnam Ministry of Health: Health Sector Targets for 2025-2030
- World Bank: Vietnam Life Expectancy Data
Writer
Tan Nguyen
Medical writer for Vietnam Clinic. MD, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City.
