Vietnam GDP growth tops 7 pct, highest in a decade

It was the highest growth the country has experienced since 2008 and compared with the median estimate of 6.9 percent in a Bloomberg survey of 12 economists.

The scale of the economy at present value is over VND5.53 quadrillion ($237.38 billion), with average GDP per capita at $2,587 per person, a $198 increase over 2017, Nguyen Bich Lam, head of the General Statistics Office, said Thursday afternoon.

According the office, the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector grew by 3.76 percent this year, and contributed to 8.7 percent to the country’s GDP. Corresponding figures for industry and construction sectors were 8.85 percent and nearly 49 percent; and that of the service sector, 7.03 percent and approximately 43 percent.

Lam said that the consumer price index (CPI) in December 2018 fell by 0.25 percent compared to the previous month. On average, CPI in 2018 increased by 3.54 percent, well below the 4 percent target set by the National Assembly.

Export turnover for the year is estimated at over $244.7 billion, up nearly 14 percent compared to 2017.

The FDI sector (including crude oil) still accounts for nearly 70 percent of export turnover, at more than $175.5 billion.

On the other hand, Vietnam imported more than $237.5 billion the whole year, up 11.5 percent over 2017.

Overall, in 2018 Vietnam achieved a trade surplus of $7.2 billion.

"The quality of economic growth has improved," Lam said.

The GSO director general explained that labor productivity this year saw an increase of nearly 6 percent compared to 2017, at VND102 million (nearly $4,512) per person.