Vietnam posts strongest H1 GDP growth in 15 years

Vietnam's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 7.52 percent in the first half of this year, the highest for the same period in 2011-25, said Nguyen Thi Huong, head of the General Statistics Office (GSO), at a press conference in Hanoi on Saturday to announce the countrys socio-economic statistics for the second quarter and the first six months of 2025.

From 2021 to 2025, Vietnam's first-half GDP growth rates were 5.71, 7.01, 3.91, 6.64, and 7.52 percent, respectively.

In the first half of this year, the agro-forestry-fishery sector grew 3.84 percent; industry and construction, 8.33 percent; and services, 8.14 percent, contributing 5.59, 42.4, and 52.21 percent, respectively, to the overall growth.

Commenting on the results, Huong stated that Vietnam had the highest GDP expansion in Southeast Asia for the first half of 2025.

The agriculture sector maintained stable growth, meeting domestic demand and supporting exports.

In the industry and construction sectors, industrial production posted strong growth with added value up 8.07 percent and construction rose 9.62 percent.

The services sector posted the highest first-half growth in the past five years, Huong noted.

As for the economic structure in the first half, agro-forestry-fishery accounted for 11.2 percent of GDP; industry and construction made up 36.9 percent; services contributed 43.4 percent; and taxes represented 8.3 percent.

   Record number of newly-established businesses

According to the GSO, last month saw over 24,400 new businesses registered nationwide, with a total registered capital of nearly VND176.8 trillion (US$6.7 billion) and almost 137,200 registered employees.

Additionally, around 14,400 businesses resumed operations, surging 91.1 percent year on year.

In total, 91,200 new businesses were established in the first six months, with total registered capital nearing VND820.9 trillion ($31.2 billion) and nearly 591,100 registered workers.

These figures represent year-on-year increases of 11.8 percent in the number of businesses, 9.9 percent in capital, and 13.9 percent in labor.

The average registered capital per new business in January-June was VND9 billion ($342,483), a 1.7-percent jump compared to the same period last year.

On average, nearly 25,500 businesses were either newly established or resumed operations each month during the six-month period.

During the same time span, over 80,800 enterprises temporarily suspended operations, more than 34,000 suspended business pending dissolution, and 12,300 completed dissolution procedures, up 23.3 percent over the year-ago period.

On average, nearly 21,200 businesses exited the market each month.

   Trade surplus exceeds $7.6 billion

Vietnam's total import-export turnover in the first half was around $432 billion, up 16.1 percent year on year.

Exports rose 14.4 percent, while imports grew 17.9 percent.

The country recorded a trade surplus of $7.63 billion.

Total retail sales of goods and services in the first six months of this year reached VND3,416.8 trillion ($130 billion), up 9.3 percent year on year.

Vietnam welcomed nearly 10.7 million international visitors in the first six months, a 20.7-percent increase compared to the same period in 2024.

The consumer price index (CPI) in June inched up 0.48 percent compared to the previous month, mainly driven by unusual rises in housing maintenance materials, especially sand, stone, and bricks, as well as fuel prices following global trends.

The average CPI for the second quarter climbed 3.31 percent, while the average CPI for the first half of the year jumped 3.27 percent.

Thanh Ha - Bao Ngoc / Tuoi Tre News

(2025/07/07-11:21)