Doing Business in Vietnam: Market Entry, GTM Strategy & Growth Potential

The population of Vietnam is 102,177,431, and is growing at the rate of 0.55%. The GDP per capita, which represents the potential spending power of the people, is $19,649, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis to allow comparison with other countries.

39.17% of Vietnam’s population lives in urban areas. 62.6% of the population is of working age (15-59). 87.12% of the population has internet access and 25.5% has 5G mobile coverage. These factors are important for digital-first businesses to keep in mind.

The Accuracast International Growth Index ranks Vietnam #56 overall for market attractiveness. The country’s rank changed -3 places, representing a fall from last year’s position.

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How Digitally Mature is the Market in Vietnam

The digital search demand score for Vietnam is 29.36.

Vietnam offers a strong opportunity for search volume. With a population of just over 102 million, Vietnam generates 8,163,000 total searches across the benchmarked keyword set, representing 79.89 searches per 1,000 people per month.

Paid campaign costs also look to be efficient, featuring an average $0.43 USD and scores a moderate competition score of 21.07.

With low entry costs and high search volume makes Vietnam a strong candidate for expanding your business and gaining an aggressive digital share.

Go-To-Market Strategy Considerations for Vietnam

The purchasing power score for Vietnam is 63.79, and the country scores 78.52 for digital readiness.

Vietnam is a dynamic, emerging economy backed by massive population scale and a rapidly rising middle class, supported by a GDP per capita of $19,648.62 USD. While digital infrastructure is maturing quickly, with internet penetration reaching 87.12%, 5G mobile network coverage is still currently at 25.50%, suggesting the advanced infrastructure is still evolving. Fixed Broadband Affordability also scores very low for Vietnam, indicating that high-speed home internet is expensive relative to national income levels.

Financial & payment infrastructure

In terms of financial infrastructure, Vietnam scores 80.32.

Vietnam’s financial sector is undergoing a significant digital transformation, scoring high for e-payment systems and credit bureau integration (85.33). The regulatory quality framework (55.63) offers a moderately stable environment for local payment processing and rapid e-commerce growth.

While formal bank credit access scores highly (80.23), the rapid proliferation of local digital wallets, universal QR-code payment systems (such as MoMo, Zalopay, and VNPay), and innovative fintech platforms is bridging the gap for consumer purchases.

Regulatory & business setup friction

From a business expansion point of view, Vietnam scores 58.97 for regulatory complexity and legal restrictions. This is reverse-scored, meaning the higher the score, the easier it is to navigate local regulation.

Vietnam maintains a structured regulatory framework climate characterised by institutional clarity. Data protection legal status achieves the maximum index score of 100.00, which indicates it fully aligns with GDPR mandates. Often referred to as ‘Vietnam’s GDPR’, the comprehensive privacy framework is governed by Law No. 91/2025/QH15 on Personal Data Protection (the PDPL).

Foreign direct investment restrictions sits at a score of 15.28, while fair market practices score 57.91. Commercial court efficiency is rated at 62.68. These scores indicate that establishing and scaling operations in Vietnam requires careful navigation of local bureaucratic laws and procedures.

The score of 45.99 indicates the costs and friction associated with setting up a business presence in Vietnam.

Vietnam offers one of Southeast Asia’s most cost-effective and agile operational environments, earning an overall Setup Cost score of 46.48. Flexibility in the labour market is moderately strong, scoring 76.8 for hiring and firing conditions. Tax administrative friction is also well-managed, scoring 5.53 for filing efficiency, and the effective corporate tax rate recorded by World Bank B-READY is 36.4. These scores present Vietnam as a highly efficient destination for commercial setup and deployment.

Vietnam market attractiveness change

Compared to last year, the overall International Growth Index score for Vietnam has changed 1.38 points, causing the country to go -3 places from 2025, dropping to rank #56 in 2026.

The country dropped 4 places since the last index, but this should not deter a brand looking for exceptionally low friction for commercial setup, and efficient financial infrastructure growth.

Most Popular Social Media Platforms in Vietnam:

1. Facebook
2. YouTube
3. TikTok
4. Zalo (Vietnam’s premier domestic messaging app, similar to WeChat)
5. Instagram
6. LinkedIn
7. X
8. WhatsApp

Vietnam is a deeply connected, mobile-first society where social platforms dominate news consumption, entertainment, product evaluation, and e-commerce. Audience targeting must accommodate Vietnamese as the standard language for national reach.

20-25% of the population speak English, only to a moderate level of proficiency, and this is limited largely to the big cities and tourist destinations.

What Are the Risks of Expanding into Vietnam

While new market expansion can be exciting, it is important to also consider the risks when entering a market like Vietnam.

Despite clear statutory legal frameworks, the cultural emphasis on hierarchy and indirect communication can add transactional friction to bureaucratic procedures, contract enforcement, and dispute resolution.

While basic internet penetration is deep (87.12%) and high-speed home broadband is universally affordable (1.8 affordability score), advanced 5G network coverage is still evolving (25.5%). High-bandwidth digital experiences, although perfectly supported on home or office Wi-Fi, must be optimised for prevalent 4G mobile environments outside core metropolitan areas.

The high search competition score of 21.07, reflects a market that is cost effective, but rapidly emerging and scaling. Although not heavily saturated, new entrants face accelerating competition and noise from established players and fellow market entrants, requiring dynamic and localised creative strategies.

How Does Vietnam Compare to Other Top Markets?