At a press conference announcing the socio-economic situation in the fourth quarter and 2025, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong - Director of the Statistics Department (Ministry of Finance) said that the gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2025 is estimated to increase by 8.46% compared to the same period last year, reaching the highest increase of the fourth quarter of all years in the period 2011-2025.
GDP for the whole year 2025 grew quite well with an estimated increase of 8.02% compared to the previous year, only lower than the growth rate of 2022 in the period 2011-2025. In the increase in total added value of the entire economy, the agricultural, forestry and fishery sector increased by 3.78%, contributing 5.30%; the industrial and construction sector increased by 8.95%, contributing 43.62%; the service sector increased by 8.62%, contributing 51.08%.
The GDP scale at current prices in 2025 is estimated at 12,847.6 trillion VND, equivalent to 514 billion USD, an increase of 38 billion USD compared to 2024 (476 billion USD). GDP per capita in 2025 at current prices is estimated at 125.5 million VND/person, equivalent to 5,026 USD, an increase of 326 USD compared to 2024 (4,700 USD).
Providing information about the bright spots, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong said that for the whole year 2025, the total import and export turnover of goods reached 930.05 billion USD, an increase of 18.2% compared to the previous year. Of which exports increased by 17.0%; imports increased by 19.4%. The trade balance of goods had a trade surplus of 20.03 billion USD.
In addition, total foreign investment capital registered in Vietnam as of December 31, 2025 includes: Newly registered capital, adjusted registered capital and capital contribution value, share purchases of foreign investors reached 38.42 billion USD, an increase of 0.5% compared to the previous year. Foreign direct investment capital realized in Vietnam in 2025 is estimated to reach 27.62 billion USD, an increase of 9.0% compared to the previous year. This is the highest amount of foreign direct investment capital realized in the past 5 years.
Regarding the operating situation of businesses, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong said that in 2025, the whole country had nearly 297.5 thousand newly registered and re-established businesses, an increase of 27.4% compared to the previous year. On average, 24.8 thousand newly established and re-established businesses per month. The number of businesses withdrawing from the market is 227.2 thousand businesses, an increase of 14.8% compared to 2024; on average, 18.9 thousand businesses withdrawing from the market per month. The total capital registered to supplement the economy in 2025 is nearly 6.4 million billion VND, an increase of 77.8% compared to 2024.
“75.8% of businesses believe that production and business activities in the fourth quarter of 2025 are better and remain stable compared to the previous quarter. 24.2% of businesses assess that production and business activities are more difficult. Compared to the third quarter of 2025, the rate of businesses assessing more favorable than the previous quarter increased by 1.1%; maintaining stability decreased by 0.2% and more difficult decreased by 0.9%” - Director of the Department of Statistics informed.
In addition, in 2025, science and technology activities also contribute directly to GDP by about 1.68% and spread to other economic activities with an indirect contribution of about 0.81%. Therefore, the total direct and indirect impact of science and technology activities accounts for about 2.5% of GDP (equivalent to 320.4 trillion VND), an increase of 16.3% compared to 2024 and an increase of about 51% compared to 2020.
Regarding the Global Innovation Index (GII), according to the GII 2025 Report of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): Vietnam's innovation index ranks 44/139 countries and economies, keeping the same ranking as in 2024. In the ASEAN region, Vietnam surpasses Thailand, ranked 3rd, after Singapore and Malaysia.
Regarding innovation, Vietnam's innovative startup ecosystem ranks 55/100 globally. According to the 2025 work summary report of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the rate of enterprises implementing innovation in Vietnam reached 34.6%, down 4.2 percentage points compared to 2024.
