The above figure higher than the projections for China (4.5 per cent), Indonesia (5.1 per cent), Thailand (3 per cent) and Malaysia (4.4 per cent).

The IMF predicts that Viet Nam's consumer prices will rise by 3.5 percent in 2025, a decrease of 0.6 percent compared to 2024. Regarding unemployment rate, the IMF expects a slight decrease for Viet Nam, from 2.1 percent in 2024 to 2 percent in 2025.

On October 21, at the 8th working session of the 15th National Assembly, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told legislators that the Government targets GDP growth of 6.5 percent to 7 percent next year.

The Government will strive to push the GDP growth to higher rate of about 7 percent to 7.5 percent, said the Prime Minister.

The Vietnamese economy expanded 7.4 percent in the third quarter, from July to September, and 6.82 percent in the first nine months this year, according to the General Statistics Office.

Viet Nam's GDP is expected to reach US$500 billion in 2025, becoming the 33rd largest economy globally and the 4th in ASEAN, noted the Government leader.

The country's GDP rose from US$346 billion in 2020 to US$433 billion in 2023, respectively ranking 37th and 34th largest economy in the world, he added.

Pham said the GDP per capita will increase to around US$4,900 in 2025 from US$3,720 in 2021, up 31.7 percent.

Viet Nam will strive to raise the GDP size to around US$780-800 billion and the GDP per capita to US$7,400-7,600 by the end of this decade, said the Prime Minister./.