Under the WB's latest income classification, Vietnam's GNI per capita increased from US$4,490 in 2024 to US$4,970 in 2025, exceeding the US$4,636 threshold required to join the upper-middle-income category.

The report said the increase reflects Vietnam's strong economic growth and export performance over the past two years. During 2024-2025, exports expanded by more than 15%, while gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7% and 8%, respectively. Between 2021 and 2025, Vietnam's GNI per capita increased by an average of around 10% annually.

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Vietnam has maintained strong economic growth. Photo by Nam Khanh.

Alongside Vietnam, five other economies were upgraded from the lower-middle-income group to the upper-middle-income category: the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Jordan, Micronesia and one additional economy included in the World Bank's latest update.

Under the World Bank's 2025 classification, economies with GNI per capita between US$1,176 and US$4,635 are classified as lower-middle income; those between US$4,636 and US$14,375 are upper-middle income; economies above US$14,375 are high income; while those with GNI per capita of US$1,175 or below are classified as low income.

Compared with the previous year, all income thresholds were adjusted slightly upward to reflect inflation.

In 2024, Vietnam had not yet qualified for upper-middle-income status, with GNI per capita reaching US$4,490. At that time, Thailand and Indonesia had already belonged to the upper-middle-income group, with GNI per capita of US$7,100 and US$4,910, respectively. The Philippines recorded US$4,470, remaining below the threshold.

By 2025, the World Bank reported that Thailand's GNI per capita had increased to US$7,690, Indonesia's to US$5,120, while the Philippines had also officially moved into the upper-middle-income category.

According to the World Bank, gross national income (GNI) is calculated by adding gross domestic product (GDP) to net income earned by residents from abroad, including compensation of employees and property income. As a result, GNI provides a more comprehensive measure of a country's income than GDP alone.

World Bank data show that Vietnam's GNI per capita has steadily improved in recent years, rising from US$3,590 in 2021 to US$4,020 in 2022, US$4,180 in 2023, US$4,490 in 2024 and US$4,970 in 2025.

According to Vietnam's General Statistics Office, GDP per capita at current prices reached approximately US$5,026 in 2025, up from US$4,700 in 2024.

Measured by purchasing power parity (PPP), the UK-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) estimated Vietnam's GDP per capita at approximately US$16,193 in 2024. However, the World Bank's income classification is based on GNI per capita rather than GDP per capita or GDP measured at PPP.

Manh Ha