KEY FINDINGS
CHAPTER 10: HOUSING AND LIVING CONDITIONS
10.2. Housing classification
The majority of households with dwellings were living in permanent or semi-permanent houses. Housing area per capita has increased in the last 10 years, but still needs concerted efforts toward reaching the goal of the National Housing Development Strategy to 2020 and vision to 2030 that the minimum average housing area meet 8m2 per person.
As of time-point 00:00 on 1 April 2019, almost all households had a dwelling. Only 1,244 households did not have a dwelling to live in (or 0.47 in 10,000 households), equivalent to 4,108 persons. The majority of households without dwellings lived in boats or floating houses, which did not meet the criteria to be deemed a house or apartment (three parts: walls, roof, and floor). In addition, information on 310 vagrants and homeless persons in 10 provinces was collected in this Census45. Thus, there were 4,418 persons without houses to live in entire country.
45 Vagrants and homeless persons were found in 10 provinces: Cao Bang, Thai Nguyen, Lang Son, Thai Binh, Quang Tri, Phu Yen, Binh Thuan, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City had the most number of vagrants and homeless persons (134 persons), followed by Binh Duong (107 persons).
7.1
14.2
3.9 11.7
21.8
6.3
0 5 10 15 20 25
Entire country Urban Rural
2009 2019 7.1
14.2
3.9 11.7
21.8
6.3
0 5 10 15 20 25
Total Urban Rural
2009 2019
RESULTS - THE VIET NAM POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS OF 00:00 HOURS ON 1 APRIL 2019 RESULTS - THE VIET NAM POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS OF 00:00 HOURS ON 1 APRIL 2019 / 147| 143 The percentage of households without dwellings in urban areas was lower than in rural areas.
On average, there were about four households without dwellings for every 100,000 households in urban areas, and five households without dwellings for every 100,000 households in rural areas. The number of households without dwellings decreased ten-fold in the last decade, from 4.7 for every 10,000 in 2009 to 0.47 for every 10,000 in 2019, reflecting significant improvement in the national quality of life.
The housing quality classification was based on three primary components of a dwelling, including: a pillar (supporting columns), roof, and walls. According to these classification criteria, residential houses were divided into two types: permanent or semi-permanent houses, and temporary or simple houses. Permanent or semi-permanent houses had two or more main structures made of durable materials. A temporary or simple house had only one of three main structures or none of the main structures were made of durable materials.
The percentage of households living in permanent or semi-permanent houses accounted for 93.1% of the total households with dwellings, a nearly 1.5-fold increase in the last 20 years (from 63.2% in 1999 to 84.9% in 2009). The percentage of households living in permanent or semi-permanent houses in urban areas was higher than in rural areas with 98.2% and 90.3%, respectively.
Table 10.2: Percentage of households with dwellings
by type of houses, urban and rural area, and socio-economic region
Unit: % Percentage of households
with permanent or semi-permanent houses
Percentage of households with temporary or simple
houses
ENTIRE COUNTRY 93.1 6.9
Urban 98.2 1.8
Rural 90.3 9.7
Socio-economic region
Northern midlands and mountain areas 84.4 15.6
Red River Delta 99.3 0.7
North Central and Central coastal areas 97.3 2.7
Central Highlands 90.3 9.7
South East 98.4 1.6
Mekong River Delta 80.8 19.2
Households living in temporary or simple houses only accounted for a small share (6.9%), an 8.2 percentage point decrease compared to 2009. This percentage in rural areas was nearly 8 percentage points higher than in urban areas with 9.7% and 1.8%, respectively. About 5.2% of the total households were living in simple houses, equivalent to more than 5 million persons, mostly concentrated in rural areas where they accounted for 70.5% of total households.
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Figure 10.2: Percentage of households with dwellings by type of house, 1999-2019
Unit: %
Households mainly lived in single detached houses (97.8%) with just 2.2% of households living in apartments. Apartments have gradually become an increasingly desirable option for households in urban areas (especially for young and small-sized households). However, the percentage of urban households living in apartments was still low overall, accounting for 5.8% of the total households in urban areas. In rural areas, living in single detached, low-rise and airy houses was still the choice of the majority of people (99.7% of 17.2 million total households with dwellings in rural areas). The Red River Delta and the South East regions had the highest percentage of households living in building blocks (4.6% in each region).
Table 10.3: Percentage of households with dwellings and housing area per capita by urban and rural area, and socio-economic region
Percentage of households
with dwellings (%) Housing area per capita (m2/person)
Total Apartment Single detached
house Total Apartment Single detached
house
ENTIRE COUNTRY 100.0 2.2 97.8 23.2 20.1 23.3
Urban 100.0 5.8 94.2 24.5 20.1 24.8
Rural 100.0 0.3 99.7 22.5 20.2 22.5
Socio-economic region
Northern midlands and mountain areas 100.0 0.3 99.7 22.4 15.9 22.4
Red River Delta 100.0 4.6 95.4 25.4 21.1 25.6
North Central and Central coastal areas 100.0 0.6 99.4 23.9 17.1 23.9
Central Highlands 100.0 0.2 99.8 20.7 19.6 20.7
South East 100.0 4.6 95.4 21.0 19.3 21.1
Mekong River Delta 100.0 0.2 99.8 23.2 20.3 23.2
36.8 15.1
6.9
63.2
84.9 93.1
0 20 40 60 80 100
1999 2009 2019
Permanent or semi-permanent houses Temporary or simple houses 36.8
15.1 6.9
63.2
84.9 93.1
0 20 40 60 80 100
1999 2009 2019
Permanent or semi-permanent houses Temporary or simple houses
RESULTS - THE VIET NAM POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS OF 00:00 HOURS ON 1 APRIL 2019 RESULTS - THE VIET NAM POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS OF 00:00 HOURS ON 1 APRIL 2019 / 149| 145 Housing area per capita in 2019 was 23.2m2 per person, a 6.5m2 increase per person compared to 2009. Housing area per capita of apartments was lower than that of single detached houses (20.1m2 per person and 23.3m2 per person, respectively).
For single detached houses, the highest housing area per capita was in the Red River Delta, and the lowest was in the Central Highlands (25.6m2 per person and 20.7m2 per person, respectively).
Table 10.4. Percentage of households with dwellings by housing area per capita, urban and rural area, and socio-economic region
Unit: % Total Under
8m2 8-9m2 10-14m2 15-19m2 20-24m2 25-29m2 30mor more2
ENTIRE COUNTRY 100.0 6.9 3.3 15.7 15.6 14.7 9.4 34.4
Urban 100.0 10.6 3.6 14.4 14.1 12.9 8.6 35.8
Rural 100.0 4.9 3.2 16.3 16.4 15.7 9.8 33.7
Socio-economic region Northern midlands
and mountain areas 100.0 4.7 3.3 19.2 17.5 15.3 8.8 31.2
Red River Delta 100.0 4.5 2.5 14.1 15.1 14.4 9.4 40.0
North Central and
Central coastal areas 100.0 3.8 2.5 14.5 15.8 15.8 10.6 37.0
Central Highlands 100.0 9.7 4.7 18.3 14.6 13.9 9.3 29.5
South East 100.0 16.3 4.8 15.3 14.0 12.6 8.2 28.8
Mekong River Delta 100.0 4.5 3.4 16.1 16.7 15.8 9.6 33.9
About one-third of households (34.4%) lived in houses or apartments with high housing areas per capita (30m2 per person or more). However, around 7% of households (or about 7.7 million people) lived in cramped houses with a housing area per capita below 8m2 per person. The highest proportion of households living in this type of house or apartment was in the South East region (16.3%) and the lowest was in the North Central and Central coastal areas region (3.8%). These results indicate it will be very challenging to meet the target of the National Housing Development Strategy to 2020 and vision to 2030 unless effective policies for housing development are implemented in the near future. Policies should focus on housing development in the South East, which is a high density population region with a large number of immigrants working in industrial zones and clusters.
150146 | / RESULTS - THE VIET NAM POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS OF 00:00 HOURS ON 1 APRIL 2019RESULTS - THE VIET NAM POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS OF 00:00 HOURS ON 1 APRIL 2019 Table 10.5: Percentage of households with dwellings by first year of use,
urban and rural area, and socio-economic region
Unit: %
Total Before 1975
From 1975 -1999
From 2000 -2009
From 2010 up to now
Uniden - tified year of
use
ENTIRE COUNTRY 100.0 2.7 18.7 39.7 37.1 1.8
Urban 100.0 5.2 19.2 38.3 34.4 2.9
Rural 100.0 1.3 18.3 40.5 38.7 1.2
Socio-economic region
Northern midlands and mountain areas 100.0 0.9 18.1 38.1 42.0 0.9
Red River Delta 100.0 2.2 24.5 39.2 32.8 1.3
North Central and Central coastal areas 100.0 2.6 23.2 40.7 32.6 0.9
Central Highlands 100.0 0.8 11.8 41.4 44.2 1.8
South East 100.0 5.4 14.0 40.2 36.5 3.9
Mekong River Delta 100.0 2.2 12.8 39.6 43.5 1.9
The majority of households have lived in their houses/apartments since 2000 (76.8%, or 20.6 million households). Of the total households, 37.1% lived in houses or apartments that were built in the last 10 years, equivalent to about 10 million households (1.2 million households fewer than in 2009).
There were 195,000 households nationwide (equivalent to 0.7% of households with dwellings) living in simple houses that were built and put into use between 21 and 44 years ago, and more than 19,000 households (equivalent to 0.07% of households with dwellings) living in simple houses that were built and put into use for the first time 45 or more years ago. Although the housing situation has improved in recent years, some households were still living in poor-quality and older houses, posing a safety risk.
Looking forward, 1.6% of households planned to buy a new house or apartment in the near future. The percentage of urban households that planned to buy a new house or apartment was higher than among rural households (2.8% and 1.0%, respectively). The percentage of households that planned to buy a new house or apartment in five central cities made up 44.4% of the total number of households with an intention to buy a new house or apartment. However, they mainly planned to buy a new house or apartment within the city they were already living in.
The South East and the Red River Delta regions had the highest percentage of households planning to buy a new house or apartment (2.7% and 1.9%, respectively) while the Northern midlands and mountain areas and Mekong River Delta had the lowest percentage (1% in each region). Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City had the highest percentage of households that planned to buy new houses or apartments (3.5% households in each city).
RESULTS - THE VIET NAM POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS OF 00:00 HOURS ON 1 APRIL 2019 RESULTS - THE VIET NAM POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS OF 00:00 HOURS ON 1 APRIL 2019 / 151| 147 Table 10.6: Percentage of households planning to buy a new house or apartment
by urban and rural area, socio-economic region, and central cities
Unit: % Percentage of
households planning to buy a new house or
apartment
Percentage of households planning to buy a new house or apartment in central cities
Ha Noi Hai Phong Da Nang Ho Chi
Minh City Can Tho
ENTIRE COUNTRY 1.6 16.9 2.2 2.7 20.7 1.9
Urban 2.8 18.2 2.1 3.9 28.3 2.7
Rural 1.0 14.9 2.3 0.8 8.9 0.6
Socio-economic region Northern midlands and
mountain areas 1.0 7.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0
Red River Delta 1.9 54.9 7.5 0.1 0.6 0.0
North Central and Central
coastal areas 1.3 2.5 0.1 16.0 2.8 0.0
Central Highlands 1.4 1.4 0.0 0.8 5.0 0.0
South East 2.7 0.9 0.0 0.1 60.1 0.2
Mekong River Delta 1.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 5.0 16.2
By provinces or cities
Ha Noi 2.8 97.5 0.0 0.1 0.4 0.0
Hai Phong 1.6 4.1 91.8 0.2 1.1 0.0
Da Nang 3.5 0.4 0.0 96.3 0.4 0.0
Ho Chi Minh City 3.5 1.0 0.0 0.1 91.8 0.2
Can Tho 2.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 3.9 90.7
10.3. Accommodation and living conditions