Economy - overview: Vietnam is a poor, densely populated country that has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally planned economy. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1996 in moving forward from an extremely low starting point - growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy but, rather than prompting reform, reaffirmed the government's belief that shifting to a market oriented economy leads to disaster. GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 fell to 6% in 1998 and 5% in 1999. Growth then rose to 6.8% in 2000 and dropped back to 4.7% in 2001 against the background of global recession. These numbers mask some major difficulties in economic performance. Many domestic industries, including coal, cement, steel, and paper, have reported large stockpiles of inventory and tough competition from more efficient foreign producers. Meanwhile, Vietnamese authorities have moved slowly in implementing the structural reforms needed to revitalize the economy and produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement entered into force near the end of 2001 and is expected to significantly increase Vietnam's exports to the US. The US is assisting Vietnam with implementing the legal and structural reforms called for in the agreement.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $168.1 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.7% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 25% industry: 35% services: 40% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 37% (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.6% highest 10%: 29.9% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 36.1 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.3% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 38.2 million (1998 est.)