At the same time, high-tech industries, manufacturing and processing, the digital economy, and the green economy are expanding. The strong performance over the first eight months of 2026 paves the way for Vietnam to achieve its target of 10% growth or more this year.
Agricultural and industrial production, exports, investment, consumption, and business activity all recorded gains in August and in the first 8 months of 2026. Industrial production remained a key driver of growth. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) rose 11.9%, the highest growth rate for this period in many years, with increases recorded in all 34 cities and provinces. The Consumer Price Index expanded 4.45% from January to August.
Associate Professor Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh, Senior Lecturer at the Academy of Finance, said: "The growth rate is sending very positive signals. Inflation and factors affecting the financial and monetary markets have remained basically stable. This is highly encouraging because maintaining macroeconomic stability alongside high growth will enable the economy to accelerate further in the final months of the year."
Investment has continued to provide a boost to the economy. Foreign direct investment surged, with total registered capital exceeding 40.6 billion USD. Vietnam’s total trade turnover reached a record high of 770 billion USD in eight months.
With strong momentum in both exports and imports, and a trend of higher trade in the second half of the year, total trade is forecast to surpass 1.1 trillion USD for the whole of 2026.
Associate Professor Dr. Pham Thi Hong Diep, Deputy Head of the Department of Political Economy at the University of Economics of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, says economic growth is being driven by digital transformation, science, technology, and innovation.
Diep said: "The rapid growth of the digital economy, artificial intelligence, trade, and services is creating new spaces for growth. This provides an opportunity for Vietnam to expand into exporting products with higher knowledge content."
To hit its double-digit growth target, Vietnam will continue to accelerate the disbursement of public investment, remove bottlenecks in administrative procedures, land, and planning, and improve access to capital to unlock private investment. The government is set to flexibly manage the economy, keep inflation under control, maintain macroeconomic stability, and strengthen the economy’s internal capacity.
