Vietnam has more than 100,000 married children 17 and younger, including thousands of spouses as young as 13, according to official census statistics released in the state media Thursday.
Many families turn a blind eye to the regulations, however.
The 1999 census figures also showed the average age of marriage rising over the 1989 census by about one year for men, to 25.5 years old, and by half a year for women, to 23.7 years old. The modern contraceptive prevalence rate also jumped in the ten-year period, from 38 per cent in 1989 to 56 per cent last year. Vietnam was one of two countries to receive a population and family planning award from the United Nations last year, despite having the highest abortion rate on earth, at 83 abortions per 1,000 women, according to an international study.