World Business | Asia | Asia Business | Vietnam

Economy - overview:
Vietnam is a densely-populated, developing country that in the last 30 years has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally planned economy. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1997 in moving forward from an extremely low level of development and significantly reducing poverty. Growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy and temporarily allowed opponents of reform to slow progress towards a market oriented economy. GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 fell to 6% in 1998 and 5% in 1999. Growth then rose to 7% in 2000-04 even against the background of global recession. Since 2001, however, Vietnamese authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to economic liberalization and international integration. They have moved to implement the structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. However, equitization of state-owned enterprises and reduction in the proportion of non-performing loans has fallen behind schedule. Vietnam's membership in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and entry into force of the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade in December 2001 have led to even more rapid changes in Vietnam's trade and economic regime. Vietnam's exports to the US doubled in 2002 and again in 2003. Vietnam is working toward accession to the WTO in 2005. Among other benefits, accession will allow Vietnam to take advantage of the phase out of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, which eliminated quotas on textiles and clothing for WTO partners on 1 January 2005. Vietnam is working to promote job creation to keep up with the country's high population growth rate. However, in 2004, high levels of inflation prompted Vietnamese authorities to tighten monetary and fiscal policies.
 

Agriculture - Products
paddy rice, coffee, fish and seafood, rubber, cotton, tea, pepper, soybeans, cashews, sugar cane, peanuts, bananas, poultry

Airlines
Airlines in Asia
Airlines Worldwide

Airports
Airports in Asia
Airports Worldwide

Country Budget
revenues: $10.66 billion
expenditures: $13.09 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (2004 est.)

Currency (code): dong (VND)

Currency Exchange Rates
dong per US dollar - 15,746 (2004), 15,510 (2003), 15,280 (2002), 14,725 (2001), 14,168 (2000)

Fiscal Year: calendar year

GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
GDP (purchasing power parity):  $227.2 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:  7.7% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:  purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 21.8%
industry: 40.1%
services: 38.1% (2004 est.)

Imports / Exports
Exports:  $23.72 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes
Exports - partners: US 20.2%, Japan 13.6%, China 9%, Australia 7%, Germany 5.9%, Singapore 4.8%, UK 4.6% (2004)

Imports:  $26.31 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles
Imports - partners:  China 13.7%, Taiwan 11.3%, South Korea 10.8%, Japan 10.5%, Singapore 10.5%, Thailand 6.2%, Hong Kong 4% (2004)

Industries
food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, coal, steel, paper

Investing
Forex, Foreign Exchange Market: Currency Trading

Labor Force & Unemployment Rate
Labor force:  42.98 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:  agriculture 63%, industry and services 37% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate:  1.9% (2004 est.)