Rostow's Five Stages of Economic Growth: VIETNAM (Developing Country)

First Stage: Traditional Society ( Before 1858 )

 Civilization in Vietnam had been built on agriculture. The feudal dynasties always considered
agriculture as the main economic base, and their economic thoughts have been predicated on
physiocracy.
 Land ownership was regulated, and such large-scale works as dykes were constructed in the Red
River Delta to facilitate wet rice cultivation. In peaceful times, soldiers were sent home to do
farm work.
 Rice is the most important crop. It is grown principally in the Red and Mekong river deltas. Other
major food crops are sugarcane, cassava (manioc), corn (maize), sweet potatoes, and nuts.


Second Stage: Pre-condition for take-off (1990 to now)

 Vietnam should be classified as a "Stage 2" within Rostow's Modernization Model. It's economy
is very service sector oriented but it still has not fully industrialized yet. It is close to taking off,
but not quite there yet.
 In the 21st century, Vietnam is in a period of being integrated into the global economy. Almost
all Vietnamese enterprises are small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
 Vietnam has become a leading agricultural exporter and served as an attractive destination for
foreign investment in Southeast Asia.
 In the current period,[when?] Vietnam's economy relies largely on foreign direct investment to
attract the capital from overseas to support its continual economic rigor. Foreign investment on
the luxury hotels sector and resorts will rise to support high-end tourist industry.[
 According to a forecast by PricewaterhouseCoopers in February 2017, Vietnam may be the
fastest-growing of the world's economies, with a potential annual GDP growth rate of about
5.1%, which would make its economy the 10th-largest in the world by 2050.
 Major Industries: Some of Vietnam's major non-agrarian industries are garments, shoes,
machine-building, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires and mobile phones.

 WEALTH:

GDP, PPP Rank: $551.3 billion (world rank - 36)

GDP per capita: $6,100 (world rank - 159)

Unemployment Rate: 3%

Population below the Poverty Line: 11.3% (2012 est.)

 HEALTH

Life Expectancy: 73.16 years (world rank - 132)

Infant Mortality Rate: 18.39 deaths/1,000 live births (world rank - 96)

Physicians density: 1.19 physicians/1000 people (2013)

 EDUCATION

School Life Expectancy: 10.4 years (2002)

Literacy Rate: 94.5%

Education Expenditures (2012): 6.3% of GDP (world rank - 33)

 The data shows Vietnam as being somewhat wealthy relative to all of the other countries in the
world(rank 36 for PPP rank). Vietnam is indeed wealthier than most countries. In terms of
health, Vietnam ranks very badly and has sub par levels of Life Expectancy and Infant Mortality
Rates. Also, there is only about 1 physician per 1000 people. This is really a limiting factor on
accessing health care. Education is also not very good for Vietnam. The average school life
expectancy is only 10.4 years, below most MDCs.