HCMC – Vietnam obtained a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 2.58% this year, lower than the 2.91% in 2020 and the lowest GDP growth over the past decade, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
This information was provided at a press briefing held on December 29 to announce the country’s socioeconomic performance this year, the local media reported.
In the last quarter of this year, the country’s GDP grew 5.22%, higher than that of the same period last year. However, the steep fall in GDP in the previous quarter resulted in low GDP growth for the whole year.
The GSO attributed the result to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on all aspects of the economy, especially in the third quarter, when many localities imposed strict mobility restrictions. However, the GSO considered this a success, as the country has been concurrently fighting the pandemic and maintaining production and business activities.
The agro-forestry-fishery sector grew 2.9% year-on-year and contributed nearly 14% to the overall economic growth.
In addition, the industry-construction sector expanded 4.05% while the service sector edged up 1.22%. The two sectors contributed 63.8% and 22.2%, respectively.
The Covid-19 pandemic, which has been raging since late April, has significantly hit trade activities and services. The decline of some key services has slowed the growth of the service sector and the economic growth as a whole.
The wholesale and retail sector reported a fall of 0.21%, the transport sector, 5.02%, and lodging and catering services, 20.81%.
On the other hand, the healthcare and community support sector registered the highest growth among services, with a rise of 49.75%.
The country also recorded an import-export turnover of over US$668 billion, up 22.6% over the year-ago period. Specifically, exports rose 19% and imports expanded 26.5%.
In the industry-construction sector, processing and manufacturing remained a driving force for economic growth, with a growth of 6.37%.
This year, the country’s consumer price index increased 1.84% over last year, the lowest since 2016.
According to the GSO, in 2021, the country had 116,800 newly-established enterprises with total registered capital of more than VND1.6 quadrillion, down 13.4% in the number of firms and 27.9% in registered capital.
Additionally, 43,100 firms resumed their operations. Meanwhile, nearly 55,000 others temporarily suspended their business operations and 48,100 firms halted their operations pending dissolution, up 18% and 27.8%, respectively. Moreover, 16,700 other companies completed procedures for disbandment, down 4.1% year-on-year.
