Digital economy takes centre stage in Vietnam’s new growth model

How prepared is Vietnam for digital economy development, and what progress has been made so far?

Le Trung Hieu

In 2020, the Prime Minister approved a national digital transformation scheme under Decision No.749/QD-TTg. Its objectives are to develop digital government, the digital economy, and digital society, while fostering Vietnamese digital technology enterprises capable of competing and expanding into global markets.

The initiative prioritises the development of digital technology enterprises, shifting the IT sector away from assembly and outsourcing towards mastery of digital products and Industry 4.0 technologies. It also promotes digital content, creative industries, the sharing economy, e-commerce and smart manufacturing, while accelerating digital transformation within enterprises to strengthen competitiveness at both firm and economy-wide levels.

Given the increasingly important role of the digital economy in the local economy, the 2021 revised Law on Statistics introduced the indicator “share of digital economy value added in GDP” into the National Statistical Indicator System.

The content and publication cycle of this indicator are specified in Decree No.94/2022/ND-CP. Since 2023, the General Statistics Office, now the National Statistics Office, has compiled and published this indicator in accordance with regulations and will continue to do so in the forthcoming period.

What results have been achieved in the five years since implementing Decision No.749?

Compilation results for 2025 show that the digital economy continues to affirm its role as one of the key growth drivers of Vietnam’s economy, closely linked to the national digital transformation process.

The share of digital economy added value in GDP in 2025 is estimated at 14.02 per cent, equivalent to more than $72 billion, up 1.64 times compared to 2020.

The digital economy has expanded in both breadth and depth. Core digital economy sectors account for over 60 per cent of total digital economy value, while the level of digitalisation across industries and sectors has continued to expand, particularly in trade, finance, public administrative services and energy infrastructure.

On average during the 2021-2025 period, the share of digital economy added value in GDP reached approximately 13.2 per cent, with core digital economy sectors contributing 8.13 per cent and the digitalisation of other sectors contributing 5.05 per cent.

These results reflect the initial effectiveness of the National Digital Transformation Strategy, the leading role of digital government, as well as the concerted efforts of all levels, sectors, the business community and citizens in developing the digital economy and digital society.

The core digital economy is seen as the backbone of the wider digital economy. How is this sector developing in Vietnam?

The core digital economy includes sectors such as the manufacturing of electronic products, computers and optical products; software publishing; telecommunications; computer programming; IT consultancy and related activities; data processing, hosting and portal activities.

According to statistics, in 2025, core digital economy sectors contributed approximately 8.4 per cent of GDP, equivalent to $43.3 billion, accounting for more than 60 per cent of total digital economy value.

Digitalised sectors – those using core digital economy products as production and business inputs – accounted for around 5.6 per cent of GDP, equivalent to $28.8 billion.

Some digitalised sectors with high digital economy added value include wholesale and retail trade applying digital technologies (e-commerce), accounting for about 12 per cent of total digital economy added value.

Service sectors applying IT in production, business and management have shown rapid growth, contributing to an increase in the share of digital economy from the services sector in the GDP from 6.5 per cent in 2020 to a little over 7 per cent in 2025.

This demonstrates the clear efforts of the government, ministries, sectors and localities in encouraging IT development and accelerating the digitalisation of economic sectors.

At the local level, how is the digital economy shaping regional growth dynamics in Vietnam?

In 2025, the digital economy became a significant factor, creating marked differences in growth among localities.

Among 34 provinces and centrally governed cities, four recorded a digital economy value-added share in regional GDP exceeding 20 per cent, including Bac Ninh at around 46 per cent, Thai Nguyen at almost 30 per cent, Haiphong at over 22 per cent and Phu Tho at close to 23 per cent.

The country’s two economic growth poles, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, also reported digital economy shares of over 17 per cent and 13 per cent of GDP, respectively.

Localities with a high digital economy share are typically major destinations for foreign direct investment in high-tech industrial manufacturing, resulting in a large proportion of core digital economy sectors in regional GDP.

The disparity in the digital economy’s contribution to regional GDP reflects differences in industrial development levels, digital infrastructure, investment attraction capacity, and the extent of digital technology application in socioeconomic development across localities.

Resolution No.57-NQ/TW targets the digital economy contributing at least 30 per cent of GDP by 2030. In your view, is this target achievable?

During the 2021-2025 period, the digital economy emerged as a key pillar of the National Digital Transformation Strategy. E-commerce, digital payments, online services, smart logistics and data-driven business models all recorded strong growth.

In particular, the development of digital government – through electronic identification, national population databases and online public services – has created an important foundation for reducing transaction costs, enhancing transparency and strengthening digital trust.

These factors have directly contributed to the expansion of the digital economy’s scale, demonstrating the mutually reinforcing relationship between digital transformation and economic growth.

The digital economy serves as a central driving force for rapid and sustainable growth by improving labour productivity, renewing growth models, expanding market space, and enhancing service quality and living standards for the population.

The results achieved in 2025 demonstrate the strong commitment and high determination of the government, ministries, sectors, localities, the business community and citizens in developing the digital economy and digital society, in line with the spirit of Resolution 57.

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