Vietnam Targets Ambitious 10% Annual Economic Growth for 2026-2030 Period

Ambitious Growth Targets Unveiled

Hanoi, Vietnam – On Monday, October 20, 2025, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh announced Vietnam's ambitious economic strategy, targeting an average annual growth rate of at least 10% for the 2026-2030 period. Speaking before the National Assembly in Hanoi, Chinh emphasized the nation's resilience amidst global trade uncertainties and outlined a comprehensive plan to achieve this significant economic expansion. This target is a cornerstone of Vietnam's broader goal to attain upper middle-income status by 2030 and high-income status by 2045.

The Prime Minister noted that the Vietnamese economy has 'proven to be strong enough to withstand external shocks, staying as one of the fastest-growing ones in the world.' For the current year, 2025, GDP growth is estimated to be over 8%, with inflation expected to remain below 4%. Over the first nine months of 2025, GDP expanded by an annual 7.85%.

Strategic Pillars for Development

To underpin the ambitious growth target, the government is focusing on several key strategic areas:

• Macroeconomic Stability: Prioritizing growth while maintaining macroeconomic stability, curbing inflation, ensuring major economic balances, and keeping public debt and the budget deficit within prescribed limits.
• Economic Restructuring: Accelerating industrialization, modernization, and economic restructuring, with a shift away from reliance on cheap labor and resources towards higher-value industries.
• Innovation and Technology: Emphasizing science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation as primary driving forces. Plans include training 100,000 engineers in high-tech sectors such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
• Infrastructure Development: Implementing strategic infrastructure projects, notably the multi-billion-dollar North-South high-speed railway.
• Trade Diversification: Actively pursuing new free trade agreements with countries in the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa to broaden export markets and mitigate risks from existing trade tensions, such as U.S. tariffs.
• Private Sector Empowerment: Identifying the private sector as a crucial engine for growth and innovation, with plans to support the development of regionally and globally competitive private economic groups.

Outlook and Challenges

The government's plan also projects a significant increase in per capita income, aiming for between US$5,400 and $5,500 in 2026, and further to $8,500 by 2030. The average Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase is targeted at approximately 4.5% for 2026.

Despite the optimistic outlook, Prime Minister Chinh acknowledged existing challenges. These include the economy's continued reliance on cheap labor and resources rather than advanced technology, global trade uncertainties, pressure on macroeconomic stability, and volatility in domestic markets. The government is committed to addressing these issues through sustained reforms and strategic investments to ensure rapid and sustainable development.