Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi, April 13 (VNA) -- Fifteen years of carrying out national renovation has taken the country out of crisis and inflation and brought about significant achievements.

Dr. Tran Kim Dong of the General Statistics Office said that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2000 was 2.5 times as much as that of 1985 with an average annual growth rate of 6.3 percent in 1986-2000, 3.9 percent in 1986-1990 and almost 7.6 percent in the past decade.

Almost all key economic sectors obtained outstanding achievements in the past 15 years.

Food output in rice equivalent rose to 35.6 million tonnes last year from 18.2 million tonnes a year before launching national renovation in 1986. The country does not only have sufficient food for domestic demand but also has between three and four million tonnes of commercial rice for export a year. This has turned Viet Nam from a rice-importing-nation to a world leading rice exporter.

The scale of industrial production in 2000 increased 4.8 times against 1985 with coal output up 1.9 times; electricity, 5.1 times; cement, 8.9 times; steel, 21.2 times; paper and cardboard, 4.8 times; and sugar, 2.9 times.

In 1986-1988, commodity and service retail price index skyrocketed at treble-digit levels, up 774.7 percent in 1986; 223 percent 1987; and 393.5 percent 1988. The soaring of commodity and service retail prices began to be checked in 1995 when it rose only 12.7 percent. Since 1996, it has been gradually stabilized with a 0.1 percent rise in 1999 and minus 0.6 percent in 2000.

Viet Nam also obtained significant achievements in expanding international cooperation. The country has established diplomatic ties with almost 170 countries and trade ties with 160 countries and territories. Foreign trade value totalled USD 29.5 billion in 2000 or 11.5 times as much as that of 1985. Per capita export value was USD 184.2 in 2000, taking the country out of the world's less-developed foreign trade list.

October 1993 was a milestone of Viet Nam's trade sector when the country resumed cooperative ties with the International Donors Community. Since then eight international conferences on official development assitance to Viet Nam have been held with a total commitment of USD 17.5 billion and USD 1.2 billion for supporting economic reform.

Since the enactment of the Law on Foreign Direct Investment in Viet Nam in 1988, the country granted licenses to 3,153 projects with a combined registered investment of nearly USD 39.1 billion.

Noteworthy is that the national economy obtained a qualitative change from a poor production economy, greatly depending on foreign aid, to a self-reliant economy with initial internal accumulation. During the years of exercising a centrally planned economy, the country's gross national product (GNP) value met between 80-90 percent of the national income needed. Therefore, the whole accumulation fund and part of the expenditure fund were balanced by foreign aid and loans. In recent years, domestic production value has been not only sufficient to balance the country's increasing expenditure fund but also partly set aside for accumulation. The rate of GDP for accumulation rose to 24.6 percent in 1999 from 10.1 percent in 1991 and 18.2 percent in 1995.

The living standards of rural and urban population have been markedly improved. The poverty rate, according Viet Nam's definition, dropped sharply to 11.3 percent in 2000 from 55 percent in 1989 and 16.5 in 1995. Meanwhile, according to international standards, that rate fell to 31.3 percent in 1996 from 41.6 percent in 1993.

Impressive progress was also seen in the fields of culture, education and health care. The literacy rate among people above 10 years old rose to 91 percent in 1999 from 88 percent in 1989. At present, 90 percent of children finish primary education when reaching 14, and 94 percent of people in the 15-35 age bracket are literate. By mid-2000, Viet Nam completed the programme of literacy and primary education universalization. According to the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, the country's education index in 1999 was ranked 92 of the 174 listed countries, therefore raising its human development index (HDI) among 174 assessed countries from the 122nd place in 1995 to the 113rd in 1998 and the 110th in 1999.

Public health and community health care also recorded visible improvement. By boosting the training of community health care workers, particularly those working at the grassroots level, the rate of health care workers obtaining three-year training per 10,000 people rose to 11.7 in 1999 from 10.8 per 10,000 in 1990 and that of medical doctors increased to 4.9 per 10,000 people from 3.6 in the period under review. In 1999, 98 percent of communes nationwide have infirmaries each. Also according to 1999 statistics, 92.9 percent of communes had automobile roads to commune centres, 85.8 percent had access to electricity supply and 92.3 percent to TV programmes. More than 50 percent of the population in nearly 70 percent of communes are supplied with running water.

A recent survey conducted on 25,000 households nationwide on self-assessment of their living standards in 1990-1999 showed that 84.46 percent said their living standards were improved, 11.11 percent said they stayed the same, and only 4.43 percent said their living conditions became worse.

The socio-economic achievements over the past 15 years were attributed to the Party-initiated renovation policy and helped boost people's confidence in the Party's leadership.

Apart from advantages and opportunities, difficulties and challenges are still ahead. The coming ninth Congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam will certainly chart orientations and measures to fully tap the potential and advantages in terms of labour, land, natural and human resources to accelerate the process of national renovation, industrialization and modernization toward the goal of a prosperous people, a strong country, an equitable, democratic and civilized society.--VNA