Vietnam posts second fastest growth of rich population

The country’s average annual growth rate of those with a net worth between $5-30 million, categorized as very high net worth (VHNW) population, reached 13.9 percent during the 2010-2019 period, says Wealth-X, a leading global wealth information and insight provider.

This growth rate is only lower than Bangladesh at 14.3 percent, according to a recent Wealth-X report. It attributes Vietnam’s wealth performance to "robust economic growth supported by a young and expanding workforce and deepening integration in regional manufacturing supply chains."

Vietnam has a workforce of over 57 million, 70 percent of which belong to the Y (commonly called millennials, born between 1976 and 1995) and Z generations (born after 1995), according to official statistics.

Last year, the Vietnamese economy expanded at 7.02 percent, the second highest in the last decade after a record 7.08 percent in 2018.

"The rapid urbanization and an ongoing shift from low-productivity agriculture towards manufacturing and services in Asian economies, including Vietnam, have contributed to the growth of wealthy individuals," the report says.

China ranked third among the top 10 fastest-growing wealth markets at 13.5 percent, followed by Kenya (13.1 percent) and the Philippines (11.9 percent).

The rest of the top 10 comprised Thailand (10.6 percent), New Zealand (8.7 percent), the U.S. (8.2 percent), Pakistan (7.5 percent) and Ireland (7.1 percent).

Vietnam had 25,727 millionaires last year, up 12 percent from a year ago. Of these, 458 had a net worth of above $30 million, up 7 percent from a year ago, according to a report released earlier this year by global property consultant Knight Frank