The digital economy is opening up new development space for Vietnam’s economy and is considered a core growth driver of the national economy.

The contribution of the digital economy to national GDP in the first nine months of 2022 stood at about 14.26 per cent, with 7.15 per cent contributed by the ICT digital economy, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications.

With growth of 12.3 per cent in 2022, Vietnam’s digital economy is ranked second worldwide, behind only India, according to a survey released by Financial Times and Omdia last November.

The Financial Times - Omdia Digital Economies Index measured the size and growth of the leading digital economies from 2022 to 2026, during which Vietnam’s digital economy is set for compound annual growth of 8.9 per cent.

By 2026, Asia is predicted to have three of the world’s five fastest-growing digital economies, with Vietnam and India in first and second place, respectively, and Indonesia fourth.

According to the e-Conomy SEA 2022 digital economy research report, with the theme “Through the waves, towards a sea of opportunity”, released in October by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company, Vietnam’s digital economy hit $23 billion in 2022 and is on track for $49 billion by 2025, becoming the region’s fastest-growing market on the back of a booming e-commerce sector.

Vietnam is estimated to have 60 million digital consumers.