Last year Vietnam’s economic growth hit 7.08%, its highest pace in 11 years.
Growth in the fourth quarter of 2019 was 6.97%, a slender decline from 7.48% recorded in the previous three months, official data showed.
GSO Director Nguyen Bich Lam said Vietnamese economic growth in 2019 was primarily driven by manufacturing, which expanded by 11.29% and market services such as logistics, wholesale and retail trade, finance, banking and insurance.
The chief statistician said amid a global slowdown, escalating trade tensions and market volatility, the 7.02% growth reflected the prompt and effective measures that the Vietnamese government took as well as the admirable efforts of all sectors and localities in realising the 2019 growth target.
A breakdown of sectors showed agriculture accounted for 13.96% of GDP, industry and construction 34.49%, and services 41.64%. Product taxes, excluding product subsidies contributed 9.91%.
Concerning the quality of growth, total factor productivity (TFP) contributed 46.11% to growth in 2019. TFP’s contribution to GDP growth during the 2016-2019 period averaged 44.46%, much higher the rate of 33.58% during the 2011-2015 period.
Investment efficiency in 2019 also improved when the incremental capital output ratio (ICOR) fell to 6.07% compared with 6.42 in 2016. Lower ICOR signifies that investment is being used far more effectively.
In 2019 Vietnam’s labour productivity reached US$4,791 per worker, up US$272 from the previous year.
