Vietnam’s Q1 GDP grows over 7.8%

This marked a significant increase compared with the same period in 2025, which saw GDP growth of around seven percent, Nguyen Thi Huong, head of the office, said at a press briefing on the country’s socio-economic performance in the first quarter held in Hanoi on Saturday.

The agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sector grew nearly 3.6 percent, contributing 5.6 percent to the overall GDP increase.

The industry and construction sector rose 8.9 percent, accounting for roughly 44 percent of the growth, while the services sector improved by 8.2 percent, contributing over 50.3 percent.

She noted that the agriculture sector maintained a steady expansion, while industrial production and construction activities remained dynamic, supported by the accelerated disbursement of public investment funds.

Between January and March, as many as 96,000 enterprises were newly established or returned to the Vietnamese market, up 31.7 percent from the same period last year.

Meanwhile, 91,800 businesses exited the market, a 16.5-percent year-on-year increase.

Pledged additional capital in the economy totaled over VND1.3 quadrillion (US$49.3 billion) during the period, inching down 5.1 percent year on year.

A survey of manufacturing enterprises indicated that 23.8 percent reported better business conditions compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, 46.1 percent remained stable, and 30.1 percent faced difficulties.

Looking ahead to the second quarter of 2026, 40.8 percent of enterprises expect improvement, 37.5 percent anticipate stability, and 21.7 percent foresee challenges.

As for international arrivals, the leader of the office said that Vietnam welcomed nearly 2.1 million foreign visitors in March, up 1.3 percent year on year.

Overall, over 6.7 million international visitors arrived in the country in the first quarter of the year, up 12.4 percent from the previous year, marking the highest quarter-one figure on record.

Vietnam’s total import-export turnover in the first quarter of the year reached $249.5 billion, a 23-percent increase over the same period last year.

The country posted a trade deficit of $3.64 billion, with exports and imports rising 19.1 percent and 27 percent year on year, respectively.

During the three-month period, Vietnam's consumer price index jumped 3.51 percent year on year.

Gold prices soared 82.7 percent year on year.