Sharp rise in number of Vietnamese women marrying foreigners: report

The National Report on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics during the 2021–24 period revealed a nearly tenfold surge in marriages involving foreigners over just two years.

In 2021, Vietnam recorded over 2,000 such marriages, accounting for just 0.5 percent of the country's total registered marriages.

However, this figure soared to 19,000 in 2023, representing 2.8 percent of all nuptials nationwide.

The majority of the marriages involving foreign partners were between Vietnamese women and foreign men, representing approximately 89.1 percent.

Only 10.5 percent involved Vietnamese men marrying foreign women.

Marriages between two foreign nationals living in Vietnam were statistically insignificant.

Most of the foreign grooms come from Taiwan (21.4 percent), the U.S. (19.9 percent), South Korea (18.1 percent), and China (17.6 percent)

Together, these four groups made up 77 percent of all foreign spouses in marriages with Vietnamese women.

The data also showed that Vietnamese individuals in international marriages tended to marry at older ages than those in domestic marriages.

Among the Vietnamese women marrying other Vietnamese, the largest share—33.4 percent—got married between the ages of 20 and 24, followed by 27.2 percent marrying between 25 and 29. The rate declined significantly for those above 30.

In contrast, women getting married to foreign partners were more likely to marry later.

The highest proportion of 24.2 percent entered into marriage between 25 and 29, followed by those aged 30 to 34 (20 percent) and 20 to 24 (18.5 percent).

There were also notable variations in age distribution depending on the nationality of the husband.

Women marrying South Korean or Chinese men tended to be younger, with over 70 percent under the age of 30 and more than 14 percent aged between 15 and 19.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese women who married American or Taiwanese men were older. 

Among those marrying Americans, only 2.1 percent were under 20, while a significant 59.7 percent of these brides were between 25 and 39 years old.

Even beyond age 40, the rate remained relatively high at 25.3 percent, compared to only 4.1 percent among those marrying South Koreans and 3.7 percent among women marrying Chinese men.

The report also highlighted an ongoing gender imbalance at birth in Vietnam.

From 2021 to 2024, the sex ratio at birth remained high at 109.8 boys for every 100 girls, peaking at 110.7 boys in 2024.

This exceeded the natural balance range of 104-106 boys per 100 girls.

The combination of a growing gender imbalance and the rise in international marriages has raised concerns about the long-term marriage prospects for Vietnamese men.