This paper details the various steps adopted in the estimation of international emigration from
Vietnam by sex and age between the dates of the first two modern censuses conducted in 1979
and 1989. The measurement of Vietnamese emigration is based on existing intercensal
projection methods. The procedure is applied to Vietnamese census data to obtain preliminary
estimates of Vietnamese intercensal emigration. A separate estimate of intercensal
emigration is derived from a combination of data on the Vietnam-born population in the
censuses of the United States, Canada, and Australia, three major receiver countries of
Vietnamese emigration, and of data on refugee movements collected by the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees. The paper evaluates the two sets of estimates and
discusses the relative appropriateness of the data sources for the estimation of intercensal
emigration.