The core of population problem is education

Education determines everything: productivity, skill level, scientific and technological competence and thereby income level and economic prosperity.

All the developed nations have one characteristic in common: advanced and effective education system, particularly at the university level. I know of no developed nation that has an inferior education system. University education trains people to become specialists in all fields: engineers, doctors, lawyers, scientists, administrators, etc... Without a large force of competent and highly skilled workers, particularly in the technical fields, a nation cannot hope to improve labor productivity, move up the value chain in the global economy, and break into high-growth high value-added knowledge-intensive industries -- all of which are prerequisites to escape the middle-income trap.

As it currently stands, Vietnam's education system at the university level leaves much to be desired, esp. with respect to research quality and competence. Teaching is adequate but by no means excellent. But it is research that matters for national development in the long run. Research generates new knowledge, makes breakthroughs in science and technology, create new services/products, and provide answers to challenges that may unexpectedly arise. Vietnam lags far behind developed nations in this respect. The number of highly productive Vietnamese researchers who contribute significantly to all fields is very small. The majority of Vietnamese workers have little initiative and the ability to do research. Multinational companies run factories not R&D centers in Vietnam, unlike countries like Germany, Japan or Israel.

So unless education is reformed in short order - which is unlikely since education takes years or decades to develop - the prospect of becoming a high-income country in 2050 is highly remote. Maybe Vietnam will manage to attain a level of development similar to that of Thailand or Malaysia. But making it to the exclusive club of high-income nations? - I think not.