Vietnam has announced a powerful economic performance for 2025, with its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanding by a robust 8.0 percent. This impressive growth, matching the rate seen in 2022, underscores the resilience of one of Asia's most dynamic economies even in the face of fresh international trade tensions.
Robust Growth Across Key Sectors
The General Statistics Office (GSO), releasing the official data on Monday, highlighted that the growth was fuelled by significant gains across multiple sectors. The industry and construction sector grew by nearly nine percent, while the services sector saw an increase of 8.6 percent compared to the previous year. This broad-based expansion reflects strong domestic consumption, sustained business investment, and proactive government spending.
The GSO also provided a positive outlook, projecting that GDP in 2025 grew at an estimated 8.02 percent compared to 2024. The final quarter of the year was particularly strong, with year-on-year economic growth hitting 8.46 percent. The office noted this was the highest growth rate for a fourth quarter in the entire 2011-2025 period.
Export Powerhouse Navigates US Tariffs
A standout feature of Vietnam's 2025 performance was its export strength, achieved despite new trade challenges. The United States, which remains Vietnam's largest export market, imposed fresh tariffs on a range of goods including clothing and shoes during the year. These were part of the "Liberation Day" tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump in April.
At that time, Vietnam had the third-largest trade surplus with the US, trailing only China and Mexico, and faced some of the highest proposed tariff rates. However, by July, Hanoi negotiated a reduction, securing a minimum tariff rate of 20 percent with Washington, down from initial figures exceeding 40 percent. This agreement came in return for Vietnam opening its market further to US products like automobiles.
The strategic diplomacy paid off. The value of Vietnam's exports to the United States jumped by 28 percent, soaring from $119.6 billion in 2024 to $153.2 billion in 2025. Overall, the global manufacturing hub's exports rose 17 percent to $475 billion. Imports also climbed significantly by 19 percent to $455 billion, with China being the largest source of those imports.
Foundations for Future Ambitions
Analysts point to strong underlying fundamentals as the reason for Vietnam's economic resilience. Chad Ovel, a partner at the private equity firm Mekong Capital, told AFP that the 2025 growth reflects the continued strong fundamentals of the Vietnamese economy and the government's pro-private sector direction. He noted that despite potential downside risks from US tariffs, Vietnam has shown remarkable resilience through robust domestic consumption, business investment growth, and government expenditure.
The 2025 performance marks a consistent acceleration from growth of just over five percent in 2023 and above seven percent in 2024. Building on this momentum, Vietnam has set ambitious targets. The nation aims to grow its economy by at least 10 percent this year and is actively vying to achieve "middle-income country" status by the year 2030.
This trajectory solidifies Vietnam's position as a compelling success story in the Asian economic landscape, demonstrating an ability to adapt to global trade winds while harnessing its domestic potential for sustained development.
