Last year saw the GDP scale of Southeast Asia as a whole reach about US$3.86 trillion, of which Indonesia took the lead in the region with an estimated GDP of about US$1.42 trillion.

Thailand ranked second with a GDP scale at US$512.19 billion, followed by Singapore and the Philippines at US$497.35 billion and US$435.68 billion, respectively.

IMF data indicated that the global GDP size last year was estimated to be at about US$104.48 trillion, with the United States being the largest economy in the world with its GDP valued at US$26.95 trillion.

China was the second largest economy with a GDP size of US$17.7 trillion, trailed by the likes of Germany, Japan, and India. Boasting a GDP scale of more than US$430 billion in 2023, Vietnam currently ranks as the 35th largest economy in the world.

Vietnamese GDP in 2024 is forecast to hit US$469.67 billion, ranking fifth in the region, after Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines.

The UK's independent Center for Economic Forecasting and Analysis (CEBR) noted that the Vietnamese economic scale ranking is likely to increase rapidly in the future.

Accordingly, Vietnam is projected to rise to 24th position by 2033, with an economic scale reaching US$1,050 billion.

By 2038, with an expected GDP scale of US$1,559 billion, Vietnam will rise to 21st position, surpassing other ASEAN economies such as Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines to enter the group of the 25 largest economies in the world.

Thanks to a large and young population, Vietnam has the opportunity to outperform other ASEAN members to become a high-income economy by 2045.

VOV