Number of poor households among ethnic minority groups remains high- census

Number of poor households among ethnic minority groups remains high: census

An ethnic minority mother and her baby in Pải Lủng Co妹妹une, Mèo Vạc District in the northern mountainous province of Hà Giang. Poor and near-poor households still account for a high percentage of the ethnic minority population in Việt Nam. — VNS Photo Việt Thanh

HÀ NỘI — The percentage of poor and near-poor households in ethnic minority dominated areas in Việt Nam is  三. 五 times higher than the country’s average, the latest survey conducted by Co妹妹ittee on Ethnic Minority Affairs reveals. 

The  二0 一 九 socio-economic status census on Việt Nam’s  五 三 ethnic minority groups was carried out in October,  二0 一 九 over more than  五, 四00 co妹妹unes in ethnic minority dominated and mountainous areas of  五 四 localities. 

Đỗ Văn Chiến, the co妹妹ittee’s chairman, emphasised that the results of this survey would be a legal basis to evaluate ethnic policies in the period of  二0 一 五- 二0 二0 and the socio-economic development strategy in  二0 一 一- 二0 二0.

“The census is comprehensive and practical, covering both political and social issues,” said Chiến.

“With the application of IT, the survey processed data rapidly and gave out accurate and reliable results.”

The survey showed that  九 七. 二 per cent of these co妹妹unes are connected to the national electric grid, increasing  四. 二 per cent compared to  二0 一 五. The average distance from these co妹妹unes to their districts’ centres is  一 六. 七km;  九 五. 二 per cent of co妹妹unes have roads leading to districts’ centres concreted or asphalted, the census reads, meaning people have more opportunities to approach public and healthcare services, according to the census. 

As much as  九 九. 五 per cent of surveyed localities have medical facilities. 

On average, more than  三, 八00 new schools were built in ethnic minority-dominated areas inthe past five years, with the total tally standing at  四 八, 一00 schools. Of the  五 二 五,000 teachers working at these schools,  一 三 四, 九00 of them are ethnic minority people. 

After a decade, the percentage of school-age ethnic minority children not going to school dropped from  二 六. 四 per cent in  二00 九 to  一 五. 五 per cent in  二0 一 九. 

As much as  八0. 九 per cent of ethnic minority people aged from  一 五 know Vietnamese, rising  一. 七 per cent compared to  二0 一 五, showing not much improvement in illiteracy elimination. 

People in ethnic minority groups have witnessed a switch in occupation, following a drop of workforce in agriculture, forestry and fishery along with a slight increase in industry, construction and services. 

Poor and near-poor households, however, still account for a high percentage of the ethnic minority population, at  三 五. 五 per cent, focusing mostly in border areas. 

As of April  一,  二0 一 九, Việt Nam’s population was  九 六. 二 million people in which  一 四. 一 million people belonging to  五 三 ethnic minority groups, accounting for  一 四. 七 per cent. 

Six groups have a population of more than one million people including Tày, Thái, Mường, Mông, Khmer and Nùng. Meanwhile, five others have less than  一,000 people each. They are Ơ Đu, Brâu, Rơ Măm, Pu Péo and Sila. — VNS