According to the Government news portal www.chinhphu.vn, the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam set a target of average GDP growth of over 10% per year for the 2026–2030 period. This is an ambitious yet entirely achievable goal; however, it requires deeper unlocking of growth potential, genuine innovation in the development model, and substantive institutional reform. This article seeks to present a more concrete picture based on national accounts data, with the hope of contributing, to some extent, to policymakers’ efforts in steering the economy. Looking at the structure of GDP from the perspective of final demand, it can be seen that final consumption by households has consistently accounted for the largest share of GDP, although this share has tended to decline in recent years. In 2010, household final consumption made up 58.4% of GDP; by 2024, this figure had fallen to 53.6%. The investment ratio (gross capital formation) in GDP also declined, from 37.1% in 2010 to 30.8% in 2025. By contrast, the trade balance (the difference between exports and imports) shifted from a negative contribution of 5.6% in 2010 to a positive contribution of 6.15% in 2025. Calculations based on the latest input–output (IO) table […]