GDP per capita rises to $9,000

The country has also created 28 million jobs while managing to bring down the poverty ratio from 9.8 percent to under 3 percent between 2015 and 2020, Phuc said at a National Assembly Q&A session on Tuesday.

The GDP per capita at purchasing power parity metric is used by analysts to compare economic productivity and standards of living between countries by taking into account respective exchange rates.

Data from the World Bank shows that this metric in Vietnam has constantly been rising since the 1990s and hit $8,374 last year.

Although Vietnam faced many challenges in the 2016-2020 period, like the Formosa toxic waste spill in April 2016 and many natural disasters, the country still created over $1.2 trillion worth of GDP in five years as it kept the macro economy stable, Phuc said.

"Vietnam is considered one of 12 most successful emerging economies. This year, the country is also among those posting the highest growth."

Vietnam will continue efforts to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and revive its economy, he said, adding that the nation has recorded a trade surplus of nearly $20 billion this year.

"We need to maintain manufacturing as the cornerstone amid the pandemic while developing industry, services and tourism sectors," he said.

With the Covid-19 pandemic stifling economic activity, Vietnam has set a revised GDP growth target of 2-3 percent this year compared to 7.02 percent last year.