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has contributed to maintaining income growth and access to social services. However,
from 2023 to 2025, the HDI has shown signs of stagnation, reflecting that digital growth
has not been strong enough to create a breakthrough in quality of life. A gap still exists
between digital transformation and the quality of human capital. This suggests that while
the digital economy has made positive contributions, it has not yet generated a significant
breakthrough in human development.
The proportion of digitally skilled workers was 24.1% in 2020, increasing to 28.3% in
2024, and is forecast to reach 29.2% in 2025. These figures indicate that the improvement
in digital skills remains slow and has not yet reached 30%. This reflects a shortage of high-
quality human resources for digital transformation in Vietnam, as the digital economy is
developing faster than the labor market’s absorptive capacity. From a sustainable
development perspective, if digital skills do not keep pace with the rate of digitalization, it
may lead to labor polarization, income inequality, and risks of social exclusion.
Internet payment transactions are an important indicator of digital transformation
in the economy. In Vietnam, the value reached 22,200,000 billion VND in 2020, declined
to 11,264,690 billion VND in 2021 due to the impact of the pandemic, and then increased
continuously from 2022 to 2025, reaching 24,745,862 billion VND. This trend shows
growing trust in electronic payments, strengthened digital financial infrastructure, and
deeper penetration of the digital economy into economic life. However, the fluctuation in
2021 indicates that the digital ecosystem remains sensitive to external shocks.
The proportion of the population with access to digital financial services is a key
determinant of sustainability. In Vietnam, about 68.44% of the adult population had
access to digital finance in 2020, slightly decreasing to 66% in 2021, then gradually rising
to 77% in 2024, and forecast to reach 87% in 2025—approaching universal digital financial
inclusion. This expansion helps reduce inequality in access to financial services, improve
SMEs’ and household businesses’ access to credit, and promote a cashless economy.
However, a digital divide between urban and rural areas remains, along with
cybersecurity and data privacy risks
Table 4. Sustainable development indicators – environmental pillar
Target for reducing greenhouse Percentage of
CO₂ gas emissions per GDP by 2030 enterprises Environmental
emissions Performance
Year (%) adopting green
(million Index (EPI)
tons) Domestic With international technologies ranking
resources support (%)
2020 313 9 27 20 141/180

2021 330 15,8 43,5 21 129/180
2022 344 15,8 43,5 38 178/180
2023 524 15,8 43,5 39 180/180
2024 100 15,8 43,5 50 180/180
Target 2025 75 15,8 43,5 74 180/180

Source: Compiled from Vietnam’s NDC, VCCI, and EPI
During the period 2020–2022, CO₂ emissions in Vietnam increased from 313 million
tons to 344 million tons due to post-pandemic production recovery, while the growth
model continued to rely heavily on manufacturing and fossil energy. In 2023, emissions
reached 524 million tons, indicating significant environmental pressure as the economy
accelerated. From 2024 to 2025, targeted emissions are projected to decrease from 100

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