The General Statistics Office (GSO) is carrying out the reassessment based on the methodology recommended by the United Nations' statistics agency, which uses sources of data deemed to better reflect the performance of the economy without changing the calculation method, the government said.

The GSO will review the scale of Vietnam’s GDP with the help of experts at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United Nations.

"Although Vietnam’s statistics inputs have been improving, data gathered is still insufficient for accurately calculating annual GDP targets," a GSO statement, adding that development of the private sector has not been reflected fully in its statistical data.

Vietnam’s statistical surveys, the main data sources for GSO, have been sufficient to measure industry trends but limitations in sharing information between ministries has meant that the GSO cannot accurately determine how much added value industries contribute to the economy.

The GSO statement predicts that the revision is likely to lead to an increase in the size of Vietnam’s GDP, although targets in Vietnam’s socio-economic development plans will not change as the country’s growth has not seen many changes over the years.

However, the revision will likely result in changes to the structure of the economy, with a possible increase in the proportion of the manufacturing and construction sector and a decline in the proportion of the agriculture sector, the GSO said.

As per GSO calculations, Vietnam’s GDP grew 7.08 percent last year, the highest in a decade, and currently stands at $223.9 billion.

The government has targeted annual GDP growth of between 6.5 percent 7 percent a year during the 2016-2020 period.