HANOI, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam achieved gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.02 percent in 2019, up from the annualized target of 6.6-6.8 percent, according to the country's General Statistics Office on Friday.
This is the second consecutive year Vietnam gains GDP expansion of over 7 percent since 2011.
In the third and fourth quarters, the GDP expanded 7.48 and 6.97 percent respectively against the same period last year.
Vietnam's top legislature has set a target of attaining GDP growth of around 6.8 percent next year. In December, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) raised its forecast for Vietnam's GDP growth from 6.8 to 6.9 percent in 2019 and from 6.7 to 6.8 percent in 2020.
In 2019, Vietnam reaped record trade turnovers of 516.96 billion U.S. dollars and export turnovers of 263.45 billion U.S. dollars, up 8.1 percent against 2018 and import turnovers of 253.51 billion U.S. dollars, up 7 percent, and posting a trade surplus of 9.94 billion U.S. dollars.
Meanwhile, its consumer price index (CPI), which measures changes in the prices paid by consumers for a basket of 11 goods and services, rose 2.79 percent, the lowest level in the last three years, said the office.
