Vietnam’s nominal GDP per capita is projected by the International Monetary Fund to overtake Indonesia’s this year, at US$5,269 against US$5,153. The IMF figures are output divided by population, a measure that differs from the World Bank’s gross national income per capita.
Diverging growth and income
Vietnam’s economy grew close to 10 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, against 5.47 percent for Indonesia. Vietnam’s full-year growth target is 8.4 percent, while Indonesia’s is 5.4 percent.
On the World Bank’s gross national income measure, Vietnam reached US$4,970 per capita in 2025, up 10.69 percent, while Indonesia reached US$5,120, up 4 percent. Indonesia still leads on that measure, but its growth was slower.
Wages and consumption
Vietnam’s Prime Minister Le Minh Hung said average worker income had reached 9.06 million dong, up nearly 9.4 percent. That figure includes self-employed workers. Indonesia’s average wage in August 2026 was 3.4 million rupiah, up 2.4 percent, and covers only wage earners at firms, offices and employers.
World Bank consumption per capita stood at US$9,341.2 in purchasing-power terms for Vietnam and US$9,089.3 for Indonesia.
Policy explanations
Chief Economist David Sumual of BCA said Indonesia’s bureaucracy was adding layers while Vietnam was removing them. He said Vietnam had cut ministers and taxes, creating what he called a virtuous cycle to attract investors, whereas Indonesia risked a vicious one.
Bhima Yudhistira, director of Celios, pointed to Vietnam’s cut in value-added tax from 10 percent to 8 percent, simplified bureaucracy and feed-in tariffs for solar power. He also cited Vietnam’s Doi Moi reforms, begun in 1986, and its membership of ASEAN in 1995, the US trade agreement in 2000 and the WTO in 2007.
Related: Vietnam set to overtake Indonesia on GDP per capita, IMF says
Source: IMF
