Market Report: Vietnam
One of BMI's favourite recruitment markets due to its consistent, steady growth and strong economic forecasts.
Hello
Market Report: Vietnam
One of BMI's favourite recruitment markets due to its consistent, steady growth and strong economic forecasts.
There are few countries in the world whose economic growth can compare to Vietnam’s. The nation boasts enviable, consistent growth rates which has attracted foreign direct investment, encouraged exports, and strengthened the country from within, spurring domestic demand and spawning a rising middle and upper class.
Learn more about the country’s robust growth below and contact us for help or advice when recruiting in Vietnam.
Historically, the Vietnamese Dong reached an all-time high of 23,360 in November of 2018 and a record low of 13,878 in February of 1999.
The corresponding chart tracks USD-VND values from March 2014 to March 2019. As of 1 March 2019:
1 USD = 23,196.66 VND
1 EUR = 26,389.18 VND
1 GBP = 30,669.45 VND
1 AUD = 16,423.54 VND
1 CAD = 17,471.74 VND
1 JPY = 207.33 VND
1 CNY = 3,458.89 VND
Vietnam’s economic growth over the past two decades has been steady and impressive, averaging 5.5% since 1990 and nearly 8% annually through the 1990’s.
The World Bank noted that between 1990 (USD 6.472 billion) and 2016 (USD 205.276 billion), Vietnam’s GDP grew by a whopping 3,303% making it the second-fastest growth rate worldwide, only surpassed by China.
GDP per capita
Vietnam took just 11 years (from 1995 to 2006) to double its per capita GDP from USD 1,300 to USD 2,600 (according to McKinsey & Co, 2014).
GDP per capita was USD 6,876 in 2017.
A joint report released in 2016 by the Vietnamese government and the World Bank suggested that Vietnam could achieve upper-middle income status by 2035 with per capita income of more than USD 7,000, which is in the range of what Malaysia or South Korea experienced in the mid-2000’s.
As of a 2016 report from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO), median wages sit just below 6 million VND a month.
Vietnam’s middle class population – currently at 10% – is believed to be the fastest growing in Southeast Asia.
The middle class earning USD 714 a month or more in Vietnam will double to 33 million people, about a third of the population, between 2014 and 2020, according to Boston Consulting Group.
Meanwhile, market research firm Nielsen has estimated that the number of middle class Vietnamese will reach 44 million by 2020 and 95 million by 2030.
This would require Vietnam to grow at least 7% per year, raising the average income level to over USD 7,000 (or USD 18,000 in purchasing-power parity terms) by 2035 (compared with USD 2,052 – or USD 5,370 in PPP terms – in 2014).
The aforementioned report also noted that over the last decade, the number of millionaires in Vietnam has tripled. As of 2016, Vietnam boasts the world’s fastest growing percentage of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, which they define as those having a net worth of at least USD 30 million.
The ASEAN Economic Community was formally established in December 2015, and since then, McKinsey has reported that the ten member states have been moving toward greater economic and community integration on a number of fronts.
The number of newly established enterprises in Vietnam in 2017 hit a record high of 126,859 and was up by 15.2% from 2016. The government aimed to boost this further, with a 2018 target of 135,000.
Private investment is projected to benefit from Vietnam having risen 14 places in the World Bank’s Doing Business rankings for 2018.
According to McKinsey, the number of companies headquartered in country with more than USD 1 billion in revenue in 2010 was:
According to the Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, over the past 30 years, foreign direct investment (FDI) has become an important part of the economy. FDI has:
Agriculture
Manufacturing
Services
Growth till now
Growth in the future
The corresponding visual shows Vietnam’s top ten export categories in 2018, which may affect interest in study courses and post-study employment, given their importance to the country’s economic growth.
Additionally, in the service sector, demand is high for:
A recent report from JobStreet revealed that the job market is bright for fresh university graduates, with wages growing year on year.
first_and_second_active
["Fall2022","Spring2023"]
first
Our latest Market Report offers a 60-page deep dive into Mexico’s education and recruitment scene. Learn more about the market. Discover enrolment opportunities.