Huỳnh Văn Hùng, chief of HCM City Statistics Office, speaks at a population and housing census meeting yesterday in HCM City. VNS Photo Bồ Xuân Hiệp

HCM CITY — A majority of families in HCM City have access to housing, accounting for 99.8 per cent of the city’s population, according to a new population census report released yesterday.
Of the total 2.5 million families, the city has only 39 homeless families. On average, for every 100,000 families, two do not have homes, according to the population and housing census report issued by the city’s Statistics Office.
Speaking at a press briefing yesterday, Huỳnh Văn Hùng, chief of HCM City Statistics Office, said: “This indicator has gradually improved over the last 10 years, from 0.9 per 10,000 in 2009 to only 0.2 per 10,000 this year. The proportion of families having housing is 99.8 per cent. The average housing area per capita this year is 19.4 square metres per person.” 
The city’s total population as of April 1 was nearly 9 million, with males accounting for 48.7 per cent. 
HCM City remains the most populous city, with 9.35 per cent of the country’s total population, according to the report. The urban population is 7.12 million (79.23 per cent) and rural population 1.86 million (20.77 per cent). 
Since 2009, the average annual population growth rate in rural areas in the city has been 4.47 per cent per year compared to urban areas of 1.77 per cent per year, showing a strong rate of urbanisation in rural areas.
Population distribution is uneven, mostly concentrated in central districts with a very high population density. Most inner districts are at an “unsafe” level of population density, with over 8,000 people per square kilometre.
In recent years, the city has taken efforts to extend the population to areas beyond the central areas, which has resulted in a decrease in population in inner districts and increase in other districts, especially outlying districts.
All of Việt Nam’s 54 ethnic groups live and work in HCM City, the largest of which is the Kinh ethnic group (94.8 per cent). The gender ratio in the city is 95 males to 100 females.
The city’s educational level has improved, with 92.9 per cent of the city’s population of high school age currently attending school. The literacy rate of the city’s population aged 15 and above is 99 per cent.
The country has about 4,800 homeless families. For every 10,000 families, 1.8 do not have homes, according to the General Statistics Office. 
Việt Nam’s population reached 96.2 million people as of April 1, ranking 15th in the world and third in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to the preliminary results of the National Population and Housing Census released in July. 
The census conducted by the General Statistics Office is taken every 10 years to provide an accurate picture of changes in population and housing throughout the country.
Việt Nam is one of the most densely populated countries in the region and the world. Population density is currently 290 people per square km, an increase of 31 people compared to 2009.
Hà Nội and HCM City have the highest population density in the country. Hà Nội has 2,398 people per sq km and HCM City has 4,363. — VNS