Vietnam’s Socio-Economic Targets for 2019

Posted by Written by Koushan Das Reading Time: 2 minutes

For the year 2019, the government has set several socio-economic targets focusing on macroeconomic stability, growth, inflation control, productivity, trade, investment, and increasing the economy’s competitiveness.

The government has already reached or exceeded its socio-economic goals for 2018, and aims to do so in 2019 as well,

Economy

GDP

The government has set the 2019 GDP target between 6.6 and 6.8 percent. This range was set to ensure a balance between the expected economic growth and inflation control, which would allow Vietnam to manage its social as well as macroeconomic conditions.

As for 2018, the target was set at 6.5 to 6.7 percent, which the economy has already achieved.

Inflation

Similar to 2018, the government aims to keep the inflation at about four percent for 2019. In 2018, the government met its target by keeping the inflation below four percent.

External factors such as rising oil prices, increase in foreign exchange rates, global markets, and trade issues can impact the inflation in Vietnam. In addition, internal issues such as education, healthcare, and rising salaries may also influence the rate in 2019.

Trade and Investment

Export turnover

The government is aiming to increase its export turnover by seven to eight percent in 2019, similar to its 2018 target.

In 2018, the increase in export turnover increased by 11.2 percent.

Trade deficit

For 2019, the trade deficit target has been set below three percent, same target as 2018. However, in 2018, the country achieved a trade surplus of 0.4 percent.

Investment

The government has set the total investment growth for 2019 at 33 to 34 percent, which was also the target range in 2018, which has already been realized.

Poverty reduction

Poverty reduction

The target for poverty reduction for 2019 has been set between one and 1.5 percent. Last year, the target was between one and 1.3 percent, which the government exceeded at 1.5 percent.

Poverty reduction in poor districts

For 2018, the target was set at four percent, which the government exceeded. For next year, the target has again been set at four percent.

Labor

Unemployment

For 2019, the government intends to keep unemployment below four percent. In 2018, they exceeded the target of four percent, at 3.14 percent.

Trained labor

The government has increased its target for the percentage of trained labor from 58 to 60 percent in 2018 to 60 to 62 percent in 2019. In 2018, it reached 58.6 percent.

Healthcare

Health insurance

For 2019, the plan is to increase the percentage of the population with health insurance to 88.1 percent.

In 2018, the percentage of the population with health insurance was 86.9 percent.

Hospital beds

The ratio of hospital beds per 10,000 people in 2018 was 26.5 percent and for 2019, the government aims to increase it to 27 percent.

Environment

Wastewater treatment systems

In 2018, the ratio of industrial parks and export processing zones with concentrated wastewater treatment facilities met its target of 88 percent.

For next year, the government has increased the target by one percent, to 89 percent.

Forest cover

Forest cover in 2018 was 41.65 percent, which the government aims to increase to 41.85 percent in 2019.

Vietnam has already reached or exceeded all its key socio-economic goals in 2018, which lays a strong groundwork for dealing with the global economic slowdown and trade tensions in 2019.

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