Hanoi, Jan 5 (IANS) The Vietnamese population that has been forecast to grow at a slower pace will hit 100 million people by 2025, according to the Institute of Public Policy and Management (IPPM) on Thursday.

The country has maintained steady low birth rate as local people have been aware of benefits of small-scale families, Giang Thanh Long, IPPM director under Hanoi-based National Economics University said.

The expert said Vietnam has stepped into the aging process and would soon become a country with an aging population, Xinhua news agency reported.

Vietnam has been following the 'golden population structure' -- for every two people working, there is only one dependent person.

According to the latest figure by the General Statistics Office, Vietnam's average population in 2016 was estimated at 92.7 million people, up 1.08 percent compared to 2015.

The country's population was expected to reach 110 million people by mid-century, said Long.