HANOI, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's gross domestic product (GDP) is poised to expand 6.81 percent this year, surpassing the target of 6.7 percent, the country's General Statistics Office announced on Wednesday.
Specifically, the GDP grew 5.15 percent in the first quarter, 6.28 percent in the second quarter, 7.46 percent in the third quarter and 7.65 percent in the fourth quarter.
Vietnam recorded a growth rate of 2.07 percent in agriculture, 5.14 percent in forestry, 5.54 percent in fishery, 7.85 percent in industry, 8.7 percent in construction, and 7.44 percent in services.
Among industries, processing and manufacturing grew 14.4 percent, the highest rate in the last seven years; and mining shrank 7.1 percent, the biggest decline since 2011, mainly due to smaller crude oil and coal outputs, the office said, noting that the crude oil output decreased by over 1.6 million tons against 2016, and the coal output dropped by more than 180,000 tons.
Among services, a growth rate of 8.36 percent was reported in wholesales and retails, 8.98 percent in accommodation and food, 8.14 percent in finance, banking and insurance, the highest increase in the last seven years, and 4.07 percent in real estate trading, the highest rise since 2011.
Vietnam's nominal GDP in 2017 stood at nearly 5,008 trillion Vietnamese dong (some 221 billion U.S. dollars), the office said, adding that GDP per capita was 2,385 U.S. dollars, 170 U.S. dollars higher than 2016.
Regarding the country's economic structure in 2017, agriculture, forestry and fishery account for 15.34 percent, industry and construction 33.34 percent, services 41.32 percent, and value-added tax, special consumption tax, export tax and import tax minus product subsidy 10 percent. The respective proportions for 2016 were 16.32 percent, 32.72 percent, 40.92 percent, and 10.04 percent.
In November, Vietnam's National Assembly, the country's top legislature, set a target of gaining a growth of 6.5-6.7 percent in GDP in 2018, compared with 6.21 percent in 2016, and 6.68 percent in 2015.
