Vietnam Economy

By: EconomyWatch Content   Date: 18 March 2010

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Marked by a heterogeneous landscape, Vietnam is the thirteenth most highly populated country in the world. A Southeast Asian country, Vietnam borders the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin and the South China Sea and is located next to China, Laos, and Cambodia. With a total land area of 325,360 sq. km, this tiny country has a population density of 237.62 people /sq. km. The northern and southern regions are low-lying areas with flat delta, while the far north and northwest are mountainous and the central region is a highland. The climate too, is tropical in the south and monsoonal in the north. Occasional typhoons, especially in the months between May and January, and extensive flooding in the Mekong River delta is quite common. Vietnam is rich in natural resources such as phosphates, coal, manganese, chromate, offshore oil, forests, hydropower and bauxite. 

Vietnam Economy: Statistics

A developing country, Vietnam had to recover from war ravages, loss of economic support from the Soviet Bloc and the inflexibility of a centrally planned economy. Since 2001, the country reaffirmed its commitment to financial liberalization and international integration. Since then, Vietnam has implemented structural reforms for modernizing the economy and generating competitive export-driven industries. The country’s membership in AFTA and entry into the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement has led to rapid changes in the trade and economic regimes. Vietnam's exports to the United States had also risen 900 percent from 2001 to 2007. The WTO membership in 2007 has secured Vietnam in the global market scenario and also reinforced its home economic reform process.

 

GDP (purchasing power parity):

 

  •  $241.7 billion (2008 est.)

  •  $227.6 billion (2007 est.)

  • $209.8 billion (2006 est.)

 

 

 

        GDP (official exchange rate):

 

       $89.83 billion (2008 est.)

 

        GDP - real growth rate:

  • 6.2% (2008 est.)

  • 8.5% (2007 est.)

  • 8.2% (2006 est.)

     

     

        GDP - per capita (PPP):

  • $2,800 (2008 est.)
  • $2,700 (2007 est.)
  • $2,500 (2006 est.) 

        Unemployment rate:

  • 4.7% (2008 est.)
  • 4.3% (2007 est.) 

        Inflation rate (consumer prices):

  • 24.4% (2008 est.)

  • 8.3% (2007 est.)

     

     

Currency (code): dong (VND), VND

 

As of 2009, the sharp economic slump resulted in tremendous lowering of exports, higher unemployment, and corporate bankruptcies and decreased foreign investment.


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