Vietnam GDP grows 8.22% in Q3, highest since 2011

Vietnam’s Q3 economic expansion is estimated at 8.22%, a record high in over a decade excluding the strong rebound in 2022 post-pandemic, said Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang.

Thang told a regular government meeting on Sunday that the socio-economic situation over the first nine months of 2025 remained positive, achieving many "important, prominent, and comprehensive results".

GDP in Q3 is estimated to have grown by 8.22%, accelerating from the 7.96% recorded in Q2. The agriculture, forestry and fishery sector expanded 3.74%; industry and construction 9.46%; and services 8.54%.

As a result, overall GDP growth for the first nine months reached 7.84% year-on-year, with the three sectors expanding 3.83%, 8.69%, and 8.48%, respectively.

Manufacturing and processing remained the main growth engine, expanding about 10% in Q3 and 9.92% in the first nine months - aligning with the planned scenario of 9.9%.

Total trade turnover surpassed $680 billion in Jan-Sept, up 17% from a year earlier. The country posted a trade surplus of $16.8 billion in the period.

The consumer price index (CPI) in September increased 3.38% year-on-year, while the average CPI over nine months rose 3.27%.

However, Minister Thang acknowledged that the economy still faces certain challenges and a lot of external pressures, while new growth drivers require time to take effect.

Moreover, institutional and legal reforms have not yet kept pace with development demands, and natural disasters remain complex and unpredictable, he added.

Previously, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said on Friday that total outstanding loans stood at an estimated VND17,710 trillion ($671.21 billion) during Jan-Sept, up 13.37% from end-2024 and 4% higher than a year earlier, .

About 78% of the credit was allocated to production and business activities, Pham Chi Quang, head of the SBV’s monetary policy department, told the press.

The National Statistics Office is expected to release official economic data on Monday.

Vietnamese goods faces a 20% levy imposed by the Trump administration, effective on August 7, midway through the quarter.

The country's economy remains resilient to increasing uncertainties and high U.S. tariffs thanks to solid domestic demand, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

In its September Asian Development Outlook (ADO) released on September 30, the bank revised Vietnam’s economic growth forecast, raising it to 6.7% in 2025 and adjusting to 6% in 2026. Inflation projections are slightly below the previous estimates published in April this year.

However, despite mounting headwinds from reciprocal tariffs and escalating geopolitical tensions globally and regionally, Vietnam’s economy has performed well in the first quarters of the year, it wrote.

The Government targets a GDP growth rate of 8.3-8.5% for 2025 and double-digit expansion for 2026-2030. According to the Prime Minister’s Policy Advisory Council", the target is "appropriate" given the favorable macroeconomic conditions and structural reforms.

The World Bank Group in its country economic update issued on September 8 stated that Vietnam's monetary policy has remained accommodative, as SBV interventions contained foreign exchange pressures and increased credit growth.