Socio-Economic development
Vietnam is a developing country, with 76.5% of its
population living in rural areas and with the livelihoods of 70% of its
population being based on the exploitation of natural resources.
Currently, Vietnam is going through a period of industrialisation and
modernisation and according to the economic development strategy up to
2020, Vietnam is expected to become an industrialised country. During this
period, the rate of economic development will be relatively high and
consequently, Vietnam will have to face many environmental problems as
well.Since the adoption of the "renovation" policy in 1986,
Vietnam has shifted from a centrally planned economy with subsidy schemes,
to a state-oriented market economy with many economic components. The
Vietnamese economy has developed relatively fast, with an annual growth
rate of GDP (General Domestic Production) in the early 1990s of 8.5%, and between 1995 and 1997 of 8.15 to 9.54%
(of which industry accounts for 12-14% and agriculture 4.44 to 4.4.7%). In
the period 1998-1999 the growth rate of GDP decreased to 5-5.8% (of which industry was 8-10% and
agriculture 3.4%), due to the Asian economic crisis. Figure 1 shows the
growth of economic sectors and GDP during 1985-1999 (at constant 1994
prices). In
the last 15 years considerable progress was made in restructuring of the
economic sectors. Between 1985 and 1999, the proportion of industry and
construction increased from 27.35% to 37.49%; of commercial services
increased from 32.48% to 40.08%; and of agriculture, forestry and fishery
decreased from 40.17% to 25.43%.
Environmental
resources
Environmental management and
legislation
The key issues of Environment in
Vietnam
General Domestic
Production
- Sevive and
Trade
Industry and
Contruction
Agriculture, Forestry and
Fishing
The growth of GDP during 1985-1999 by
economic sector (at constant 1994 prices - milion dong)
Source: General of
Statistics - Statistical Year Book, Ha Noi
2000
Human resources development
Growth of population
Population structure
Education
Health
services
* Growth of
population
The total population of Vietnam in 1945 was around 25 million. After 55 years the population has more than trebled and stood at 76,327,919 as on 1 - 4 - 1999. The average annual growth rate of population was 2.1 and 1.7%/year in the periods 1979 - 1989 and 1989 - 1999 respectively. Figure 2 shows the evolution of total population and urban population from 1989 to 1999. The average density of population in Vietnam was 230 persons/ km2 as in 1999.
Growth of total population and urban population from
1989 to 1999 (million person -
Total Population. 
The rate of urban population in compare with total
population (%) 
Total urban population Source :
General of Statistics, Statistical Year Book, Ha Noi
2000
Vietnam
has a relatively young population with 39.55% of total population being
below the working age, 52.83% of the working age, and 7.62% over the
working age as shown by the 1998 statistics. Of the total population, the
proportion of men is 49.2% and women 50.8%. In 1997, Vietnam's working
population was about 37 million. The rate of unemployment decreased from
8-9% in 1990 to 6-7% by 1994.
Human development index (HDI) is considered as a general yardstick of socio-economic development impact on human. The changes of HDI in Vietnam from 1995 to 1999 is shown in
Human development indices (HDI) of Vietnam
|
Index |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
|
Longevity
[year] |
62.2 |
65.5 |
66.0 |
66.4 |
67.4 |
|
Rate
of literacy adults [%] |
91.9 |
92.5 |
93.0 |
93.7 |
91.9 |
|
Real
average of General Domestic Production (GDP) [$PPP* per
capita] |
1010 |
1040 |
1208 |
1236 |
1630 |
|
Rank
in classification Table for 174 countries in the
world |
122 |
121 |
121 |
113 |
110 |
Source : General of Statistics - Statistical Year Book, Ha Noi 2000 * $PPP: equivalent purchasing power parity
By
1997, Vietnam had about 13 million poor people representing 18.06% of the total
population (in cities the percentage of the poor is 8.57% and in rural
areas it is 20.19%).
Human Poverty Index (HPI) is considered as an additional yardstick plus the yardstick of income. As in the 1997 "Human Development Report" of UNDP, Vietnam ranked 33 with HPI value of 26.2%, among 78 developing countries.
Although
Vietnam is a poor country, its education system is relatively well
developed. Most children
enter schools, and many provinces and districts have achieved literacy
levels of 100% of their local populations. According to statistical data
for the school year 1998-1999, there were 82,600 kindergarten schools,
23,419 schools (including primary, secondary and high schools), 247
vocational secondary schools and 123 universities and colleges (except
private schools). The growth of total number of students in all types of
schools is shown in Fig.3. As can be seen for the school year 1997-1998
the total number of pupils and students reached 20,157,300; of which
662,800 are students of universities and colleges. Therefore, for every
1000 persons there are 264 school students and 8 students of university or
college level, which shows that more than one-third of the population
enters the education system.
Total
number of pupils and students at different education levels during
1992-1998 (1,000 persons)
Source : General of Statistics - Statistical Year Book, Ha Noi 2000
In general, public consciousness and awareness on environmental protection is still poor. The qualification and number of environmental experts is also inadequate to meet the demands of environmental protection in the process of industrialisation and modernisation in Vietnam.
The development of health services and public health protection is also significant in Vietnam. According to the 1998 statistical data there were 13,330 health establishments, of which 1,944 were hospitals and local surgeries, 119 sanatoriums, and 11,201 health stations in communes, quarters and enterprises. By 1998, the total number of beds was 199,100 which translates into some 2.6 beds for every 1000 persons. The total number of medical doctors and nurses was 34,174 and 49,297 respectively, which means that there were 1.1 doctors or nurses for every 1000 persons. The Centre for Medical Hygiene has been set up in every province/city. These centres are responsible for regular inspection on environmental and food hygiene in urban areas and production establishments, organisations as well as in schools.