Hanoi (VNA) - Despite global economic headwinds and mounting uncertainty, Vietnam's economy delivered an impressive performance that stands as a bright spot in the region as its gross domestic product (GDP) rose 7.52% in the first six months of the year, the highest in 15 years, according to the National Statistics Office of Vietnam (NSO).
At a July 5 press briefing, NSO Director Nguyen Thi Huong said geopolitical instability and military conflicts have spread across the globe, while trade tensions between the US and other countries continue disrupting global supply chains, adding other challenges included climate change, energy security, food security, cyber security, and high inflation rates.
The World Bank has lowered its growth forecasts for regional economies, projecting the Philippines at 5.3% (down 0.4 percentage point), Indonesia at 4.7% (down 0.3 percentage point), and Thailand at 1.8% (down 0.7 percentage point). It also predicted Vietnam's growth at 5.8%, 1.3 percentage points lower than 2024.
The International Monetary Fund also revised down its forecasts, with the Philippines at 5.5%, Indonesia 4.7%, Thailand 1.8%, Malaysia 4.1%, and Vietnam 5.4%.
Against this backdrop of global economic uncertainty, Vietnam's 7.52% growth rate is a bright spot, demonstrating the economy’s resilience. Huong said the services sector continued to assert its role as the primary growth engine, expanding 8.14% and contributing the largest share of 52.21%. The industrial and construction sector provided robust support with 8.33% growth, contributing 42.2%. The agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sector maintained stability with 3.84% growth, contributing 5.59%.
She further elaborated that domestic demand was a key contributor to the country's growth, with final consumption increasing by 7.95%, accounting for 84.2% of the overall growth. Investment has remained strong, with asset accumulation rising by 7.98%. In addition, international trade has seen a positive turn, with exports of goods and services up by 14.17% and imports rising by 16.01%.
She attributed the impressive growth to the coordinated actions of the entire political system, including rearrangement of the political apparatus, and the completion of legal regulations. Other actions included the implementation of major resolutions on science-technology development, innovation, digital transformation, international integration, law building and enforcement, and development of private economic sector.
Along with closely monitoring fluctuations in the global and domestic economic situation, ministries, sectors, and localities have made great efforts to implement tasks and solutions to achieve the set objectives. As a result, Vietnam’s economy has performed well in the second quarter and first half of 2025, nearing the set targets, Huong concluded.
Although Vietnam's economy delivered its strongest first-half performance in over a decade, in order to deliver on the annual growth target of 8%, the economy will need to expand 8.42% in the remaining months of the year, according to the NSO./.
