VOLUME 05 ISSUE 07 July 2026
Tran Hanh Minh Phuong
Thu Dau Mot University, Vietnam
DOI : https://doi.org/10.58806/ijsshmr.2026.v5i7n12Google Scholar Download Pdf
ABSTRACT
Population ageing has become a major challenge for sustainable development, yet it is often examined at national or regional levels while demographic change within urban ethnic communities receives less attention. Le Binh Ward in the Cai Rang area of Can Tho City, historically associated with Cai Rang Market and Hiep Thien Cung, is a long-established Hoa community whose household livelihoods are closely linked to small trade and services. Based on a case-study design, this article combines a household survey of 100 Hoa households comprising 407 individuals with ten in-depth interviews and field observations. It examines how ageing is connected to household livelihood, elder care and cultural transmission. The findings show that the community has entered a clearly aged population structure: people aged 60 and over account for 20.6 percent, exceeding the 0-14 age group at 15.2 percent, while the ageing index reaches approximately 135.5 older persons per 100 children. High rates of non-marriage among adults and older persons, small household size, limited labour out-migration and a livelihood structure centred on trade and services all increase care pressure, narrow the pool of successors in household businesses and weaken channels of cultural transmission. The article argues that population ageing should not be treated only as a demographic phenomenon, but as a community-level issue of sustainable development that requires coordinated attention to elder care, social protection, household livelihoods and the preservation of community-based cultural institutions.
KEYWORDS:population ageing, sustainable development, Hoa community, Cai Rang-Can Tho, household livelihood, cultural transmission.
REFERENCES1) Assmann, J. (2011). Cultural memory and early civilization: Writing, remembrance, and political imagination. Cambridge University Press.
2) Bloom, D. E., Canning, D., & Fink, G. (2010). Implications of population ageing for economic growth. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 26(4), 583-612. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/grq038
3) Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241-258). Greenwood.
4) General Statistics Office. (2020). Results of the 2019 Population and Housing Census. Statistical Publishing House. https://www.nso.gov.vn/
5) General Statistics Office & UNFPA. (2021). Population ageing and older persons in Viet Nam. General Statistics Office and United Nations Population Fund in Viet Nam.
6) Goodkind, D. (1997). The Vietnamese double marriage squeeze. International Migration Review, 31(1), 108-127. https://doi.org/10.1177/019791839703100106
7) Granovetter, M. (1985). Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology, 91(3), 481-510.
8) Jordan, D. K. (1997). Chinese matchmakers of Tianjin and Taoyuan. University of California, San Diego. https://pages.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/scriptorium/meiren/meiren.html
9) Le Thanh Sang, & Vu Thi Thu Thanh. (2019). Understanding the high rates of unmarried Chinese-Vietnamese women: A case study of Cai Rang. Asian Women, 35(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.14431/aw.2019.03.35.1.1
10) Nguyen Duy Binh. (2005). Marriage and family of the Hoa in southern Vietnam. Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City Press. [In Vietnamese]
11) Portes, A. (1998). Social capital: Its origins and applications in modern sociology. Annual Review of Sociology, 24, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.24.1.1
12) Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Simon & Schuster.
13) Salaff, J. W. (1976). Working daughters in the Hong Kong Chinese family: Female filial piety or a transformation of the family power structure? Journal of Social History, 9(4), 439-465. https://doi.org/10.1353/jsh/9.4.439
14) Salaff, J. W. (1981). Working daughters of Hong Kong: Filial piety or power in the family? Cambridge University Press.
15) Ta Thi Tra Mi. (2017). Reflexivity among modern single women in the transformation of Vietnamese society. Journal of Social Sciences, 11(231). [In Vietnamese]
16) UNESCO. (2003). Convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage. UNESCO. https://ich.unesco.org/en/convention
17) Yamane, T. (1967). Statistics: An introductory analysis (2nd ed.). Harper & Row.
DATA SOURCES AND INTERVIEW MATERIALS
18) Le Binh Ward survey data. (2020). Survey dataset of 100 Hoa households in Le Binh Ward, Cai Rang District, Can Tho City [Unpublished survey data].
19) Population and Migration in the Mekong Delta dataset. (2020). Comparative dataset on population, migration, marriage and livelihoods in the Mekong Delta [Unpublished survey data].
20) Ethnic language-use dataset. (2020). Dataset on mother-tongue use among the Hoa group [Unpublished survey data].
21) Bui Thi Bich Phuong. (2016). In-depth interview on the socio-cultural life of the Hoa community in Le Binh Ward [Unpublished interview material].
22) Lam Que Thanh. (2016). In-depth interview on Hiep Thien Cung, mutual support, charity and migration among the Hoa in Cai Rang [Unpublished interview material].
23) Tieu Chi Nguyen. (2016). In-depth interview on economic, cultural and community life among the Hoa in Le Binh Ward [Unpublished interview material].
24) Tran Hanh Minh Phuong. (2020). In-depth interview materials and field notes on the Hoa community in Le Binh Ward, Cai Rang District, Can Tho City [Unpublished field notes].
25) Vu Thi Thu Thanh. (2016). In-depth interview materials on marriage, family, livelihood and migration among the Hoa in Cai Rang [Unpublished field notes].
Cite this Article:Phuong, T. H. M. (2026). Population Ageing and Sustainable Development of the Hoa Community: The Case of Le Binh Ward, Cai Rang, Can Tho City. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE HUMANITY & MANAGEMENT RESEARCHS, 5(7), 1920-1929. https://doi.org/10.58806/ijsshmr.2026.v5i7n12