Which localities have the largest economic scale in the country?

According to data from the General Statistics Office in 2024, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are not in the top 20 localities with the fastest growth rate, but are still the two cities with the largest economic scale in the country.

Ho Chi Minh City is in the leading position with a scale of 1.78 quadrillion VND at current prices. Hanoi is in second place with 1.43 quadrillion VND.

Services account for about 65% of Ho Chi Minh City's economic structure, up about 7%. Of which, the city's total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue are higher than the national average, about 11%. Exports are also a positive sector, with an estimated turnover of 46 billion USD, of which 75% is the processed industrial goods group.

Similarly, the main growth driver of Hanoi came from the service sector, which increased by 7.14% over the same period, contributing 4.72 percentage points to the GRDP growth. This is also the sector with the largest proportion, more than 65.6% in the capital's GRDP structure. The rest are industry, construction and agriculture, accounting for 22.79% and 1.96%, respectively.

2024 is the year that records a record budget revenue for Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, over 500,000 billion VND. This level contributes about half of the total state budget revenue for the year (over 2 million billion VND).

However, foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction is contrasting between the two economic locomotives. Hanoi has an additional 2.2 billion USD, up 30% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, foreign capital poured into Ho Chi Minh City reached 4.85 billion USD, down nearly 19% compared to the same period.

The group of 5 localities with the largest GRDP scale also includes Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Hai Phong. With GRDP 2024 reaching 520,205 billion VND, Binh Duong maintains advantages from modern industrial parks, attracting high-tech projects.

Dong Nai's GRDP is about 493,819 billion VND. This locality maintains its position as an important center of processing, manufacturing and logistics industry in the country.

For the first time, Hai Phong has entered the group of 5 localities with the largest economic scale in the country, with 445,995 billion VND, after ten years of maintaining double-digit growth. The port city is also the only locality among the 5 centrally-governed cities to grow by over 10%, with GRDP increasing by 11.01% last year, ranking 3rd in the country, leading the Red River Delta.

Unlike Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the remaining three localities in the group of five localities with the largest economic scale have the main growth driver coming from the manufacturing and construction sector, accounting for 53-65% of the GRDP structure. FDI attraction of these localities also grew positively compared to the national average. Of which, Hai Phong had more than 4.9 billion USD in foreign capital, Binh Duong 1.9 billion USD and Dong Nam 1.48 billion USD.

Top 20 localities with fastest growing economies in the country

In terms of GRDP growth rate, about one-third of localities nationwide recorded 8.42% or more. Of which, 9 provinces and cities recorded double-digit growth, according to statistics.

Bac Giang - a locality with many large industrial zones in the North - has the highest growth rate in the country, 13.85% compared to the previous year. This is the 5th consecutive year that the province has had double-digit growth. They continue to maintain the 12th position in the country in terms of economic scale, with 207,000 billion VND.

One of the main growth drivers of Bac Giang comes from its continuously improving investment environment. Last year, the locality attracted over 2.14 billion USD in investment capital, ranking 10th in the country in attracting foreign capital. Particularly, new domestic projects attracted 2.5 times more and FDI expanded twice as much compared to the same period.

Nam Dinh ranked last among the nine localities with double-digit growth at 10.1%. However, this is the second consecutive year that the province has recorded a high GRDP.

This year, the Government targets GDP growth of at least 8%, to create a foundation for double-digit growth for the next period (2026-2030). At the local level, many places target double-digit GRDP growth in 2025, such as Ho Chi Minh City, from 10% or more. Ho Chi Minh City leaders said the city will focus on removing backlog projects and works, including public and private ones, to mobilize at least VND620,000 billion.

According to Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, 2025 will have many advantages in disbursing public investment capital. Projects that have completed investment procedures and are entering the final stage of completion will immediately contribute to growth and open up new development space for regions and localities.

For example, the Southeast region, Ho Chi Minh City and 3 localities (Binh Duong, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Dong Nai) have planned public investment capital of up to more than 104,000 billion VND. Mega projects such as Long Thanh international airport, Can Gio international transit port or Ring Road 3 - Ho Chi Minh City... are expected to be important driving forces for breakthrough development.

For the Red River Delta, a series of inter-regional traffic connection projects, such as Ring Road 4 - Capital Region, Ninh Binh-Nam Dinh-Thai Binh-Hai Phong Expressway or Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong Railway... expected to start construction this year, will create momentum for connection and breakthroughs for the region.

In addition, institutional reform is still identified by the operator as the "breakthrough of breakthroughs" to help localities grow rapidly. "Bottlenecks and bottlenecks that have existed for a long time and have not been resolved, including problems with projects, will be removed," said Mr. Dung.