By John Meyer, consultant in business and foreign investment – Eurasia Business News, September 4, 2026. Article no 3144

Photo : View on the Da Nang central boulevard, Vietnam, 2025. photo credits : Swann Collins.

Vietnam’s economy grew 8.4% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, outperforming an earlier 7% forecast and reinforcing the country’s position among Asia’s fastest-growing economies. The result lifted gross domestic product growth to 8.2% for the first half of 2026, supported by robust industrial activity, construction, manufacturing, consumer demand, and exports.

Official data put second-quarter GDP growth at 8.39%, accelerating from a revised 7.94% rate in the first quarter. The first-half expansion of 8.18% was significantly stronger than the 7.63% growth recorded in the same period of 2025.

Industry and Construction Drive Growth

Industry and construction remained Vietnam’s main engines of growth in the April-to-June quarter. The sector expanded 10.51% from a year earlier and contributed just over half—50.07%—of total value-added growth in the economy.

Manufacturing was a key component of this performance, benefiting from recovering external demand, rising production orders, continued foreign direct investment, and Vietnam’s role in global supply chains. The country has become a major production base for electronics, machinery, textiles, furniture, and consumer goods, attracting multinational companies seeking to diversify manufacturing capacity in Asia.

Construction activity also contributed strongly as infrastructure projects, industrial-park development, residential investment, and public spending supported demand. Vietnam’s ongoing investment in transport links, ports, energy systems, and urban development has helped create a favorable environment for industrial expansion.

Domestic Demand and Services Recover

Vietnam’s economic growth was not solely export-led. Domestic demand continued to recover, with retail sales of goods and consumer services reaching an estimated 3,889.5 trillion Vietnamese dong in the first half of 2026. That represented a 12.9% year-over-year increase in nominal terms, or 7.3% after adjusting for price changes.

The services sector expanded by 7.87% in the second quarter, contributing 44.28% of overall value-added growth. Higher household consumption, tourism, retail activity, logistics, and financial services helped support the broader recovery.

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Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries also posted solid gains, expanding 4.06% in the second quarter. While the sector made a smaller contribution to total growth than industry or services, it remained important for domestic food supply, rural incomes, and export earnings.

Outlook for Vietnam’s Economy

Vietnam’s strong first-half performance comes despite a difficult external setting marked by Middle East tensions, supply-chain uncertainty, higher logistics costs, commodity-price volatility, and slower growth in some major export markets.

The country’s momentum could strengthen confidence in its ability to meet ambitious full-year growth objectives. International projections cited by Vietnam’s National Statistics Office had generally placed 2026 growth between 6.5% and 7.2%, meaning the first-half result substantially exceeded those estimates.

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However, risks remain. Faster import growth has contributed to a goods-trade deficit, while manufacturers continue to face higher input costs and uncertainty in global demand. Inflation also warrants monitoring: consumer prices rose 4.38% in the first half, potentially limiting the room for more accommodative policy.vietnamnet+1

For investors, Vietnam’s 8.4% second-quarter GDP growth underscores the resilience of an economy supported by manufacturing competitiveness, infrastructure investment, domestic consumption, and continued integration into global trade.

In an attempt to attract more skilled professionals and investors, Vietnam announced in 2025 it will introduce a new 10-year golden visa program. The Southeast Asian country is looking to attract long-term residents, investors and tech professionals from around the world.

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© Copyright 2026 – Eurasia Business News. Article no. 3144