VietNamNet Bridge - In 2006, each Vietnamese shouldered about VND3.5 million of public debt, and 10 years later the burden has increased to nearly VND30 million.

The debt burden of Vietnamese people increases annually. In 2006, the country’s total public debt was about $13.8 billion. If total population of 83.3 million people at that time, each person would bear approximately $165.7.

However, 10 years later, the per capita debt has risen to approximately $1,384. The figure is calculated based on GDP and population.

Specifically, public debt accounted for 62.2% of GDP in 2015, or about $126.9 billion. The debt is divided to the population of about 91.7 million people to have the per capita debt of $1,384. The number increased 8.5 times compared to that of 2006.

In 2015, the per capita income of Vietnamese people was about VND45.72 million ($2,200). Thus, the per capita debt in 2015 accounted for 65% of the total income of Vietnamese people.

In 2006, according to data from the General Statistics Office, Vietnam’s public debt was 22.7% of GDP, equivalent to $13.8 billion. In 2015, it accounted to 62.2% of GDP, equivalent to $126.9 billion dollars.

According to the World Bank, in 2016 the public debt will increase to 63.8% of GDP and in 2017 it will be 64.4% of GDP and 64.7% of GDP in 2018. Thus, by 2018, public debt will reach the 65% safe ceiling rate set by the Ministry of Finance.

The structure of public debt

According to the bulletin of the Ministry of Finance, in the structure of public debt, government debt (including bonds, bills, ODA loans, commercial loans from bilateral and multilateral partners) accounts for 80%.

The remaining 20% is debt guaranteed by the government (bonds issued by the Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) and the Bank for Social Policy) and the debt of local governments.

Vietnam’s public debt includes foreign debt and domestic debt.

Foreign creditors are usually bilateral partners, such as the World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the countries providing ODA loans to Vietnam as Japan, South Korea, China ..., the institutions buying government bonds, countries and other international organizations granting commercial loans to Vietnam.

Domestic creditors are also diverse, including organizations and individuals. The organizations may be commercial banks and the individuals are Vietnamese people who purchase government bonds.

US$1 = VND22,300

Na Son