Digital economy - Vietnam's breakthrough driving force in the new development stage

QNgTV- The digital economy is increasingly becoming a key driving force, shaping new productive forces and growth methods, helping many countries adapt to the digital age. Recognizing this importance, the Party and State of Vietnam have issued many policies to promote digital transformation, making the development of the digital economy and digital society a priority task in the national strategy. With an estimated scale of 39 billion USD in 2025 and a growth rate among the fastest in Southeast Asia, the digital economy is affirming its pivotal role in the country's new development process.

Báo Quảng Ngãi•05/12/2025

unnamed,1,17394305.jpg — Digital sophistication - Vietnam's breakthrough driving force in the new development stage

Located in the center of Southeast Asia and possessing great growth potential, Vietnam is considered to have an outstanding digital economic development speed in the region. In recent years, Vietnam's digital economy has made many important strides.

According to the 10th annual report on the Southeast Asian digital economy published by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company on November 25, 2025, Vietnam's digital economy will reach a total value of goods of 39 billion USD by the end of 2025, an increase of 17% compared to the previous year. This growth rate helps Vietnam rank second in Southeast Asia, just after Indonesia, and is in the group of fastest growing digital economies. It is forecasted that by 2030, the total value of Vietnam's digital economy could reach 85-190 billion USD.

E-commerce continues to be a mainstay, accounting for two-thirds of the digital economy and expected to exceed $25 billion by 2025, representing a 17% increase. With a large population, high internet penetration, and increasingly popular online shopping, Vietnam is considered one of the most potential e-commerce markets in Asia.

Another bright spot is the level of AI adoption among Vietnamese people. Vietnam currently leads Southeast Asia in three important indicators: 81% of users interact with AI daily; 83% actively learn or improve AI-related skills; 96% are willing to share data access with AI agents. Vietnam currently has more than 40 startups operating in the AI field and has attracted 123 million USD in private investment capital in the past year, equivalent to 5% of the total AI investment capital in the region.

The e-Conomy SEA 2025 report assessed that Vietnam is witnessing a strong rise in digital finance, with the total value of digital payment transactions expected to reach 178 billion USD by 2025, showing a rapid pace of cashless conversion nationwide. Vietnam has established a vision of becoming a high-income country by 2045, in which the digital economy is identified as one of the important driving forces, striving to contribute 30% of GDP by 2030. To realize this goal, Vietnam continues to implement the National Digital Transformation Program, focusing on three pillars: digital government, digital economy and digital society. The recent commercialization of 5G has concretized the Government's vision of leveraging science , technology and innovation to promote digital transformation in businesses, while accelerating the implementation of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 nationwide.

At the same time, Vietnam is also accelerating the completion of the legal framework for artificial intelligence. The AI Strategy issued in 2021 is being updated and is expected to have a new version by the end of 2025 along with the AI Law. This is not only an important legal basis but also demonstrates the national vision: AI will become an intellectual infrastructure serving the People, promoting sustainable development and enhancing national competitiveness.

To create a breakthrough for digital economic development, the Politburo has issued many strategic resolutions, such as Resolution 57, Resolution 68, Resolution 59, Resolution 66..., focusing on key areas: science, technology, innovation and digital transformation; international integration; law making and enforcement; private economy. These are important institutional pillars, opening up new development space for the business community, while creating strong momentum for the digital economy to break through.

In the Draft Political Report of the 13th Party Central Committee at the 14th Party Congress, one of the Party's guiding viewpoints in the coming time is: "Establishing a new growth model, taking science and technology, innovation, national digital transformation as the main driving force and private economic development as the most important driving force; perfecting development institutions associated with synchronous implementation of 4 transformations: Digital transformation, green transformation, energy transformation, transformation of structure and quality of human resources; attracting and utilizing talents, promoting the development of new productive forces".

From there, the Party set the task: “Establishing a new growth model with the goal of improving productivity, quality, efficiency, added value and competitiveness of the economy; taking science, technology, innovation and digital transformation as the main driving force; creating new high-quality production capacity and production methods, focusing on data economy and digital economy; promoting digital transformation, green transformation, energy transformation, structural transformation and quality of human resources. Identifying new growth drivers and taking science and technology as the focus to renew traditional growth drivers. Forming strong growth poles, key economic zones, urban areas, new-generation economic zones on par with the region and the world”.

In the context of profound transformation globally, the strong rise of the digital economy opens up great opportunities for Vietnam to break through and form a new growth model based on knowledge and technology. With the Party's correct strategic orientation, the digital ecosystem is gradually being perfected, creating conditions for businesses to innovate, people to adapt and the economy to operate effectively, bringing Vietnam closer to the goal of becoming a developed country by 2045.

Comment (0)