The year 2025 closed with a noteworthy highlight: the digital economy is now firmly embedded in Vietnam’s growth structure. According to the General Statistics Office, the sector contributed an added value of approximately $72.1 billion, growing by 14.6% and accounting for more than 14% of the country’s GDP.

However, as outlined in Resolution 57, a substantial gap remains between this figure and the ambitious goals of 30% of GDP by 2030 and 50% by 2045. That gap spans several dozen percentage points of GDP - a formidable distance to cover.

A sequential development path

Between 2021 and 2025, Vietnam’s digital economy witnessed rapid and relatively balanced growth, particularly following the issuance of Resolution 57, which focuses on breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation.

The share of the digital economy’s added value rose from 12.87% of GDP in 2021 to 14.02% in 2025, averaging about 13.2% over the period. Of this, the core digital economy accounted for 8.13%, while the digitalization of other sectors contributed 5.05%.

The 2025 structure of the digital economy highlights the pronounced rise of core sectors such as electronic product manufacturing, computing, telecommunications, software development, and data processing. This group contributed 8.42% of GDP - equivalent to $43.3 billion - representing over 60% of total digital economic value. It also serves as the technological backbone of the broader economy.

Simultaneously, major technology corporations grew stronger, with FDI flows into semiconductors and electronic components creating a foundation for the high-tech industrial base that many provinces are now relying on for breakthrough growth.

E-commerce emerged as a standout sector, accounting for 11.8% of the digital economy’s added value. It has significantly influenced consumer behavior and reshaped distribution methods.

Yet perhaps more striking is the regional disparity. Among 34 provinces and cities surveyed, only four had digital economies contributing over 20% of GRDP: Bac Ninh (46.30%), Thai Nguyen (29.53%), Phu Tho (22.71%), and Hai Phong (22.28%), according to the General Statistics Office.

Bac Ninh holds a special place with its exceptionally high digital economy share, reflecting the concentration of high-tech industries and electronic component manufacturing. Meanwhile, Hanoi (17.34%) and Ho Chi Minh City (13.43%) lag behind in proportion due to their large, diversified economic scales. However, in absolute value - and in their pioneering roles in digital services, the sharing economy, and innovative startups - these two cities remain key market leaders.

Provinces with existing electronic manufacturing bases and access to high-tech FDI are trending toward becoming “digitalization hubs.”

By contrast, some sectors - such as veterinary services, social assistance, and elderly care - remain virtually untouched by digital transformation, contributing only 0.01% to the digital economy.

Digital economy and the role of FDI enterprises

Vietnam’s digital economy is closely linked to its evolving growth model and the role of high-tech foreign direct investment.

Nearly four decades after opening up, Vietnam has attracted over $525 billion in registered FDI, with $330 billion in disbursed capital across more than 44,800 projects.

Global giants like Intel, Samsung, Foxconn, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm have selected Vietnam as a manufacturing hub, bringing advanced technologies, management expertise, and high-quality workforce training.

These projects have helped lay the groundwork for the core digital economy, creating jobs and boosting domestic supply chains. Yet many still focus on assembly and processing, generating lower value than what’s envisioned for a true innovation-driven economy.

Advanced sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and new materials remain underrepresented.

This raises a critical question: Has the digital economy truly become a driving force shifting Vietnam away from a labor-intensive, assembly-based model toward one founded on knowledge and innovation?

Resolution 57 and a breakthrough in execution

What sets Resolution 57 apart from previous strategies is the level of political commitment and the method of implementation.

With the General Secretary personally chairing the Central Steering Committee, Vietnam has sent a clear signal of its determination to make science, technology, and digital transformation the central engines of national development.

Positioning these elements at the heart of Vietnam’s development strategy indicates that the digital economy is no longer a niche program - it is now a metric of government effectiveness.

In its first year, the response from the National Assembly and Government has been notably swift, with experimental mechanisms and synchronized action plans launched across all ministries, sectors, and localities. Thousands of tasks have been assigned, covering everything from institutional reform and digital infrastructure to national data systems, workforce development, and international cooperation.

The guiding spirit of “breakthrough action, spreading results” demands a shift from process-based planning to goal-oriented, results-based execution. When progress is measured not by activity but by impact - when “doing something” becomes “doing it thoroughly” - the digital economy can finally begin to deepen.

Acceleration phase

With the 2025 “run-up” phase complete, 2026 marks the beginning of the “acceleration” stage. The true test of the digital economy will now be whether it improves productivity, lowers transaction costs, enhances public services, and, most crucially, increases satisfaction among citizens and businesses.

Only by passing this test can the digital economy truly serve as the central engine of a new growth model - one that is more sustainable, self-reliant, and knowledge-based.

Otherwise, it risks being a thin coat of tech polish over an economy still running on outdated inertia.

Therefore, the decision to designate 2026 as the year of “Breakthrough action, spreading results,” as directed by General Secretary To Lam, carries great significance. It serves as a reality check. After a year of “preparation and ramp-up,” the economy must now shift immediately into high gear. The full weight of growth model transformation will be measured by tangible outcomes.

At this stage, what matters is no longer the number of plans or reports, but the ability to execute, enforce discipline, and deliver specific results - higher productivity, lower costs, and more convenient public services for both citizens and businesses.

Lan Anh