Vietnam’s Booming Consumer Class

Back in 1990, Vietnam's per capita GDP was $122 — one-thirteenth that of Thailand's, one-seventh of the Philippines' and one-sixth of Indonesia's.

After Vietnam's economy was liberalized and foreign investment flowed in over the following decades, per capita GDP rose to exceed $2,000 in 2012 and $3,000 in 2018.

As of 2024, Vietnam's per capita GDP has overtaken that of the Philippines — and is close to reaching Indonesia's.

Vietnam’s GDP has increased at a compound annual rate of 5% in real terms over the past 20 years. That is 1.7 times faster than the global average.

Over the next decade, 36 million more consumers may join Vietnam’s consuming class — defined as consumers who spend at least $11 a day in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.

Vietnam’s urban population is also projected to surge by 10 million over the next decade, with the share of the country’s urban population rising from 37% in 2020 to 44% by 2030.

Cities are likely to be Vietnam’s engine of growth, contributing roughly 90% of all consumption growth over the next decade.

Being located next to China, with deep-water ports in both the north and south and having good land connectivity to other countries in the Indochina Peninsula are significant advantages for Vietnam’s development.

The U.S.-China rivalry has also helped Vietnam position itself as a safe alternative investment destination.

In addition, Vietnam's male and female labor force participation rates were 77.8% and 68.5% respectively in 2023. This is above the East Asia and Pacific averages of 73.6% and 58.6%, respectively.

Vietnam's fertility rate of 3.6 children per couple in 1990 fell to 1.9 in 2022, the fourth lowest among major ASEAN economies after Singapore's 1, Thailand's 1.3 and Malaysia's 1.8.

The communist country's number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals will rise by 30% from 2023 to 2028, the highest in Southeast Asia after Malaysia and Indonesia. That would mean 978 Vietnamese with $30 million in assets or more.