Vietnam surpasses Indonesia on per-person GDP- Is Thailand next?

[Beijingwalker]

Vietnam surpasses Indonesia on per-person GDP. Is Thailand next?​

Indonesia’s US$1.5 trillion economy is still nearly triple that of Vietnam, whose marginal per capita lead may not last​

Sam Beltran
Published: 8:00am, 4 Nov 2026

Vietnam’s average economic output per person is set to overtake Indonesia’s, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Gross domestic product per capita, which provides a snapshot of a country’s standard of living, is projected to rise 8.9 per cent to US$5,259 in Vietnam this year – nearly double the figure a decade earlier and overtaking Indonesia’s US$5,153.

This would also rank Vietnam fifth among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, behind Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand.

 

[retaxis]

Vietnamese is a confucian style society with confucian habits so it is different from other south east asian nations (singapore also confucian with majority chinese).

Vietnam is already stealing a lot of thailand tourism now and soon will overlap thailand. But its technology industry is far lacking compared to China and East Asia still.

 

[Beijingwalker]

Vietnam is geographically South East Asia but culturally East Asia

 

[ety]

Lol, India is nobody in SEA today. Bharats can still dream to have Look East and Act East policies. It is not even one of the RCEP members.

 

[AViet]

Both are still very poor. Not worth to brag about. Please stop comparing Vietnam and Indonesia, we are brothers, just like Vietnamese and Chinese are brothers.

 

[tower9]

Vietnam is geographically South East Asia but culturally East Asia

View attachment 221996

I consider Cantonese and northern Vietnamese to be basically cousins. If Vietnam stayed a Chinese province they would basically be a type of Cantonese today I think.

 

[Viet]

Both are still very poor. Not worth to brag about. Please stop comparing Vietnam and Indonesia, we are brothers, just like Vietnamese and Chinese are brothers.

Yes still at the low end if just looking at the number and compare to for example Germany $65,000 or Norway $115,000. I think the trajectory is right though.

 

[ety]

Vietnam is geographically South East Asia but culturally East Asia

View attachment 221996

Lol, I don't know why would anybody in SEA want to be associated with the biggest dirtiest shithole in the world. Just look at its own backyard South Asia, I mean every country is repelled by it.

 

[Indos]

Congrats Vietnam

 

[AViet]

Yes still at the low end if just looking at the number and compare to for example Germany $65,000 or Norway $115,000. I think the trajectory is right though.

I am talking about the overall level of development, not GDP per capita, whether nominal or PPP. Those include solid base of industries, good infrastructure and the most important overall, quality of education.

Germany is not a model. A people with average IQ equal to North Vietnamese at best (according to a research published by a Germany university in early 2000s, German average IQ is slightly lower than average IQ of Vietnamese living in Germany), who are obsessive with jungle freedom, combined with a not-so-clever government (which cannot change for the better, because majority of Germany would not want it to change). Not much future ahead. Its GDP per capita is high just because euro is valued too high, that can change overnight.

I mean Vietnam is poor in comparison with the likes of China, Russia, South Korea, Poland, Czech., Belarus.. not with the likes of Brazil, Argentina, Greek, Portugal or Mexico.

 

[Viet]

I am talking about the overall level of development, not GDP per capita, whether nominal or PPP. Those include solid base of industries, good infrastructure and the most important overall, quality of education.

Germany is not a model. A people with average IQ equal to North Vietnamese at best (according to a research published by a Germany university in early 2000s, German average IQ is slightly lower than average IQ of Vietnamese living in Germany), who are obsessive with jungle freedom, combined with a not-so-clever government (which cannot change for the better, because majority of Germany would not want it to change). Not much future ahead. Its GDP per capita is high just because euro is valued too high, that can change overnight.

I mean Vietnam is poor in comparison with the likes of China, Russia, South Korea, Poland, Czech., Belarus.. not with the likes of Brazil, Argentina, Greek, Portugal or Mexico.

Russia is a gulag. Czech is good, many Vietnamese live there. Germany is still a model I think. Still great in technology, university, infrastructure, automobile industry. The reason for Germany decline today is much caused by the greens, the leftists, delusional dreamers and fanatics. The uncontrolled immigration, war in Ukraine, the hostile US under Trump, the rise of China manufacturing have given the Germans a dead kick.
Korea, Japan is great to learn technology although I think too boring to live there.
I agree with you. Providing great infrastructure to majority of people is better than giving money elsewhere.

 

[Thinking_Hard]

Lol, India is nobody in SEA today. Bharats can still dream to have Look East and Act East policies. It is not even one of the RCEP members.

I love these threads. Chinese love to talk both ways with each other!

Sinosphere, indosphere..

Irony is that Malaysia is richer than even china.

 

[ety]

I love these threads. Chinese love to talk both ways with each other!

Sinosphere, indosphere..

Irony is that Malaysia is richer than even china.

Malaysia's nominal GDP per capita is estimated at $15,980 for 2026, China's nominal GDP per capita is estimated at $15,371 for 2026, according to the IMF. GDP per capita is not the factor to measure a country's wealth. There are other social, economic and developmental indicators to consider. For example, Chinese life expectancy is 79.25 years and Malaysian is 75.5 years, China's literacy rate is 97% and Malaysia is 95.77%, Chinese infant mortality is 3.8 and Malaysian is about 4.87 to 7.

 

[Beijingwalker]

Malaysia's nominal GDP per capita is estimated at $15,980 for 2026, China's nominal GDP per capita is projected at $15,371 for 2026, according to the IMF. GDP per capita is not the factor to measure a country's wealth. There are other social, economic and developmental indicators to consider.

Malaysian Chinese make up nearly a quarter of the total population and control about 70% of the economy.

 

[Beijingwalker]

Nominal GDP all depends on the exchange rate, now Chinese yuan appreciates rapidly
China's nominal GDP per capita to reach $16,402 next year