Vietnam
This factsheet provides the latest statistics on trade and investment between the UK and Vietnam.
Date of release: 18 May 2023; Date of next planned release: 21 June 202
Total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Vietnam was £6.9 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022, an increase of 29.1% or £1.6 billion in current prices from the four quarters to the end of Q4 2021. Of this £6.9 billion:
- Total UK exports to Vietnam amounted to £1.0 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022 (an increase of 22.3% or £185 million in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q4 2021);
- Total UK imports from Vietnam amounted to £5.9 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022 (an increase of 30.3% or £1.4 billion in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q4 2021).
Vietnam was the UK’s 40th largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022 accounting for 0.4% of total UK trade.
In 2021, the outward stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) from the UK in Vietnam was £785 million.
In 2021, the inward stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the UK from Vietnam was £21 million.
About these statistics
This factsheet presents the latest statistics on trade and investment between the UK and Vietnam. It summarises a wide range of publicly available data, from data providers such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), as well as international data providers.
This factsheet is part of a wider range produced by the Department for Business and Trade which draws together many data sources into one single compendium document for each individual trade and investment partner. The full set of factsheets for different individual partners can be found on the Trade and Investment Factsheets website on GOV.UK.
Where data are available, these factsheets contain metrics on:
- Headline trade statistics between the UK and each trading partner for the latest four quarters.
- Trade statistics by commodity and service type.
- Trade between the UK and each trading partner, broken down by UK country and English region.
- UK’s market share as a total of all imports for each trading partner.
- A number of VAT-registered businesses trading goods.
- UK’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) with each investment partner.
- Summary trade and investment data as reported by each trade and investment partner, as well
as economic data and projections.
All statistics are correct at the time of publication, with upcoming release dates available on the Government update schedule for Official Statistics.. The Department for Business and Trade strongly recommends users download the latest factsheet to ensure the most up-to-date statistics are used as some statistics are revised on a regular basis.
For the most up-to-date snapshot of the UK’s trade and investment position with all partners, please see the UK Trade in Numbers publication or the Trade and investment core statistics book. These statistics are based on the same data sources as this factsheet and therefore are comparable. A list of all Official Statistics publications from the Department for Business and Trade can be found online.
Contact Details
Responsible statistician: Rebekah Paul
Authors: Freya Lawrence, Callum Orkney & Anthony Myers
Media contact number: 020 7215 2000
Public contact e-mail address: [email protected]
Summary trade and investment statistics for Vietnam
| Trade | Value in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022 | Change from the four quarters to the end of Q4 2021 |
| Total trade | £6.9 billion | an increase of 29.1% or £1.6 billion |
| Ranking out of all the UK’s trading partners | 40th | |
| Total UK exports | £1.0 billion | an increase of 22.3% or £185 million |
| Ranking out of all the UK’s export partners | 61st | |
| UK exports in goods (percentage of total UK exports that were goods) | £763 million (75.1%) | an increase of 24.7% or £151 million |
| UK exports in services (percentage of total UK exports that serviced) | £253 million (24.9%) | UK exports in services (percentage of total UK exports that were serviced) |
| Total UK imports | £5.9 billion | an increase of 30.3% or £1.4 billion |
| Ranking out of all the UK’s import partners | 29th | |
| UK imports in goods (percentage of total UK imports that were goods) | £5.6 billion (94.9%) | an increase of 26.3% or £1.2 billion |
| UK imports in services (percentage of total UK imports that were services) | £303 million (5.1%) | an increase of 225.8% or £210 million |
UK market share in Vietnam
| UK market share for total trade | Value in 2021 | Change from 2020 |
| Total UK market share | 0.3% | a decrease of 0.1 percentage points |
| UK market share for goods only | 0.3% | unchanged |
| UK market share for services only | 1.6% | a decrease of 0.8 percentage points |
UK Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) with Vietnam
| UK FDI | Value in 2021 | Change from 2020 |
| Total UK outward FDI | £785 million | a decrease of 15.3% or £142 million |
| Total UK inward FDI | £21 million | a decrease of 20.3% or £5 million |
Economic statistics and projections using gross domestic product (GDP) for Vietnam
| Economic statistics | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Economic growth, using GDP in real terms, compared to the previous year | 2.9% | 2.6% | 8.0% | 5.8% |
| GDP per capita in $USD (in thousands) | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.5 |
Vietnam was the 37th largest economy in 2022, in terms of gross domestic product (GDP).
| Trade definitions | |
| UK exports | Goods and services that were produced or sourced in the UK, which were sold to Vietnam. |
| UK imports | Goods and services that were sold to the UK, which were produced or sourced by Vietnam. |
| Total or ‘bilateral’ trade | The value of total trade between the UK and Vietnam (exports plus imports). |
| Trade balance | The difference between exports and imports, calculated by UK exports minus UK imports. |
| Trade surplus | This occurs when the value of UK exports to Vietnam is greater than the value of UK imports from Vietnam. |
| Trade deficit | This occurs when the value of UK exports to Vietnam is less than the value of UK imports from Vietnam |
Headline trade statistics include trade in non-monetary gold (reported within the unspecified goods category), which can significantly affect trends for some partners. Please see the factsheet quality and methodology report for more
information. These statistics are given on a balance of payments (change of ownership) basis.
Note: The latest data include trade between January 2021 and December 2022. Trade has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated lockdown measures globally. Consequently, data quality has been affected and may be subject to larger revisions than normal. All figures are
reported in current prices (not adjusted for inflation) unless otherwise stated. We recognize that some of the recent increases in UK trade values will be partly due to price increases.
Total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Vietnam was £6.9 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022, an increase of 29.1% or £1.6 billion in current prices from the four quarters to the end of Q4 2021.
In the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022, total UK exports to Vietnam amounted to £1.0 billion (an increase of 22.3% or £185 million in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q4 2021).
Of all UK exports to Vietnam in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022, £763 million (75.1%) were goods and £253 million (24.9%) were services. In the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022, UK exports of goods to Vietnam increased by 24.7% or £151 million in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q4 2021 while UK exports of services to Vietnam increased by 15.5% or £34 million in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q4 2021.
In the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022, total UK imports from Vietnam were £5.9 billion (an increase of 30.3% or £1.4 billion in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q4 2021).
Of all UK imports from Vietnam in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022, £5.6 billion (94.9%) were goods and £303 million (5.1%) were services. In the same period, the UK imports goods from Vietnam increased by 26.3% or £1.2 billion in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q4 2021 while UK imports of services from Vietnam increased by 225.8% or £210 million in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q4 2021.
This means the UK reported a total trade deficit of £4.9 billion with Vietnam, compared to a trade deficit of £3.7 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2021. In the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022, the UK had a trade-in goods deficit of £4.9 billion with Vietnam, compared to a trade-in goods deficit of £3.8 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2021. Meanwhile, in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022, the UK reported a trade-in services deficit of £50 million with Vietnam, compared to a trade-in services surplus of £126 million in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2021.
The charts below present a time series for trade between the UK and Vietnam for each year between 2013 and 2022:
The data that are presented in the charts above are given in the table below in £ billion:
In the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022, Vietnam was the UK’s:
- 40th largest trading partner (accounting for 0.4% of total UK trade).
– 28th largest goods trading partner (0.6% of UK goods trade).
– Joint 80th largest services trading partner (0.1% of UK services trade).
- 61st largest export market (accounting for 0.1% of total UK exports).
– 50th largest goods export market (0.2% of UK goods exports).
– 84th largest services export market (0.1% of UK services exports). - 29th largest import market (accounting for 0.7% of total UK imports).
– 21st largest goods import market (0.9% of UK goods imports).
– 73rd largest services import market (0.1% of UK services imports).
More timely data, for trade in goods only, show that UK exports of goods to Vietnam increased by 32.6% in the 12 months to March 2023 in current prices, compared to the same period the previous year. UK imports of goods from Vietnam increased by 13.4%, in current prices, over the same period.
Note: As these data are presented for the 12 months ending March 2023, the UK and its trading partners have been affected by lockdown and other measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data quality has also been affected and may be subject to larger revisions than usual. Please note, these data are in current prices.
Trade in goods by commodity, in current prices (ONS)
Please note, these data are presented on a non-seasonally adjusted basis and are not directly
comparable to seasonally adjusted data, including the headline trade statistics presented before.
The top 5 goods exported from the UK to Vietnam in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022 were:
- 54 – Medicinal & pharmaceutical products (£90.5 million or 11.9% of all UK goods exported to
Vietnam) - 25 – Pulp & waste paper (£82.8 million or 10.9%)
- 11 – Beverages (£81.3 million or 10.7%)
- 58 – Plastics in non-primary forms (£33.4 million or 4.4%)
- 87K – Scientific instruments (capital) (£33.1 million or 4.3%)
The top 5 goods imported to the UK from Vietnam in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022 were:
- 76K – Telecoms & sound equipment (capital) (£1.6 billion or 28.7% of all UK goods imported from
Vietnam) - 84 – Clothing (£564.4 million or 10.0%)
- 85 – Footwear (£513.9 million or 9.1%)
- 82C – Furniture (consumer) (£349.9 million or 6.2%)
- 89OC – Other manufactures (consumer) (£297.0 million or 5.3%)
The chart below shows the top 5 products exported from the UK to Vietnam and the top 5 products
imported to the UK from Vietnam, by value, in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022. All data shown in
the chart are provided in the text above.
Trade in services by service type, in current prices (ONS)
Note: Service type data for the trade in services between the UK and Vietnam in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022 are not available from UK sources.
Trade in goods by UK countries and English regions, in current prices (HMRC)
| Regional trade definitions | |
| UK regions | The UK is categorized into 12 regions based on the International Territorial Level 1 (ITL1). This level includes 9 regions in England, as well as Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. |
| Regional trade data | The data are compiled by merging HM Revenues & Customs (HMRC) trade data with employment data from the Interdepartmental Business Register (IDBR) so a business’ trade can be allocated to a UK region based on the proportion of its employees employed in that region. Where a trader is not matched with the IDBR, its trade is matched with ONS postcode data to obtain the UK region in which the Head Office of the VAT-registered business is based. |
The maps below show the value of UK goods exports and imports between each UK region and Vietnam in 2022. The maps are shaded with the 3 UK regions with the highest amount of trade as the darkest colour, and the 3 UK regions with the lowest amount of trade as the lightest colour.
The data that are presented in the maps above for 2022 in £ million for exports and £ billion for imports are also given in the table below:
Note that these figures from HMRC are reported on a physical movement basis and are not directly comparable to trade data from ONS which are reported on a change of ownership basis. Percentages will not total 100% as data not allocated to a single UK country or English region are not presented.
UK Market Share (ONS and UNCTAD)
| Market Share definitions | |
| UK market share | Imports from the UK as a percentage of all the goods and services imported by Vietnam. Market share is provided for total imports from the UK, as well as for goods and services separately. |
| Market share methodology | These UK market share statistics are derived by the Department for Business and Trade, using publicly available data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). These new statistics allow users to estimate the importance of UK trade on imports to each trading partner. Market share is calculated as the value of imports from the UK using data from ONS, divided by the value of total imports using data from UNCTAD. Data from UNCTAD are converted from US dollars into pounds sterling by using the annual average spot exchange rate |
The UK’s market share for Vietnam in 2021 was as follows:
- The total UK market share in Vietnam was 0.3% in 2021 for goods and services. This is a decrease of 0.1 percentage points from 2020.
- The UK market share in Vietnam was 0.3% in 2021 for goods only. This is unchanged from 2020.
- The UK market share in Vietnam was 1.6% in 2021 for services only. This is a decrease of 0.8 percentage points from 2020.
Number of VAT-registered businesses trading goods (HMRC)
| VAT-registered businesses definition | |
| VAT-registered businesses | Any company with a VAT taxable turnover of more than £85,000 must be registered for VAT with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). These estimates do not cover unregistered businesses (those businesses that are not registered for VAT and do not have an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number), or those businesses that trade in services. |
Businesses trading with Vietnam in 2021:
- In 2021, around 2,900 UK VAT-registered businesses exported goods to Vietnam.
- In 2021, around 3,200 UK VAT-registered businesses imported goods from Vietnam
Businesses trading with the world in 2021:
- In 2021, around 126,900 UK VAT-registered businesses exported goods to the world.
- There is no data available for world imports due to methodological changes
Trade in Value Added (OECD)
| Trade in Value Added definitions | |
| Trade in Value Added (TiVA) | TiVA is a statistical approach to examine supply chains, which is not possible with conventional (‘gross’) trade statistics. This is because TiVA treats international trade flows as flows of value added rather than gross flows of final goods and services |
| Domestic and foreign value added | In TiVA, gross exports are decomposed into domestic and foreign value added. Domestic value added measures the value added generated by the domestic economy in the production of its exports (e.g. the value added by UK car manufacturers and their UK supply chains in car exports). Foreign value added measures the value added contribution that foreign suppliers make to these exports (e.g. the import of foreign car parts). |
| TiVA statistics | Although TiVA offers advantages over traditional ways of measuring trade, these statistics are not fully developed. These results are estimates which should be considered complementary to conventional trade statistics and not be over-interpreted. In addition, the geographical detail is limited for developing countries. More information on TiVA can be found in a recent research report by the Department for Business and Trade and Cambridge Econometrics. |
| UK forward linkages for exports | Measures the reliance of foreign exporters on UK value added (inputs |
| UK backward linkages for exports | Measures the reliance of UK exporters on foreign value added (inputs) |
| Employment supported by exports – | This provides an estimate of the number of employees in exporting industries, and their domestic supply chains that are supported by exporting activity. |
UK forward linkages for exports
- In 2018, 0.4% of the total value added in gross exports from Vietnam originated in the UK.
- In 2018, 51.1% of the value-added content in gross exports from Vietnam reflected foreign imports from abroad. The largest sources of foreign value added for gross exports from Vietnam were China (14.4%), South Korea (5.6%), and Japan (3.7%).
UK backward linkages for exports:
- In 2018, less than 0.1% of the total value added in gross exports from the UK originated in Vietnam.
- In 2018, 17.8% of the value-added content in gross exports from the UK reflected foreign imports from abroad. The largest sources of foreign value added for gross exports from the UK were United States (2.7%), Germany (1.8%), and Norway (1.5%)
Employment supported by exports:
- Data for Vietnam on employment supported by exports in 2018 are not available.
- Exporting activity in the UK supported 6.8 million persons in 2018 (20.9% of total UK employment). Data regarding the number of UK jobs supported by export activity to Vietnam in 2018 are unavailable.
Foreign Direct Investment with Vietnam (ONS)
| Foreign direct investment definitions | |
| Foreign direct investment (FDI) | The investment made by a firm or individual in one economy (‘direct investor’) to acquire a ‘lasting interest’ in an enterprise operating in another economy. The lasting interest is deemed to exist if the direct investor acquires at least 10% of equity, or equivalently 10% of the voting rights, of the company. |
| FDI stock | The accumulated value of all previous investments at the end of a reference period. Figures are net, that is the value of investment minus disinvestment. UK outward FDI stock provides the total value of FDI by UK investors in economies abroad (investment of a UK parent company in Vietnam), while UK inward FDI stock provides the total value of FDI by non-UK investors in the UK (investment of a Vietnam parent company in the UK). |
| Data disclosure | It can happen that FDI is coming from only a few investors. In that case, figures are suppressed by the ONS to avoid disclosure of information relating to individual enterprises. |
Note: The FDI data for 2020 have been affected by changes in sampling methodology. Improvements have been made to the population which has been sampled and the way that businesses are sampled from the population, capturing a wider range of businesses. This means data from 2020 and onward are more representative of UK FDI with overseas partners and are comparable.
More information about the methodology changes can be found on the ONS website.
UK outward FDI stock:
- In 2021, the stock of FDI from the UK in Vietnam was £785 million, 15.3% or £142 million lower than in 2020. In 2021, Vietnam accounted for less than 0.1% of the total UK outward FDI stock.
- In 2021, the total UK FDI abroad was £1.8 trillion. In 2021, the top destination for UK FDI was the United States, accounting for 26.1% of the total UK outward FDI stock, followed by the Netherlands (8.8%) and Luxembourg (7.2%).
UK inward FDI stock:
- In 2021, the stock of FDI from Vietnam in the UK was £21 million, 20.3% or £5 million lower than in 2020. In 2021, Vietnam accounted for less than 0.1% of the total UK inward FDI stock.
- In 2021, the total FDI in the UK was £2.0 trillion. In 2021, the top investor in the UK was the United States, accounting for 33.7% of the total UK inward FDI stock, followed by the Netherlands (10.9%) and Jersey (9.6%).
Economic statistics (as reported by Vietnam)
Trade and investment data for Vietnam (UNCTAD)
The following data are reported by Vietnam and are for reference only. Whenever possible use data from UK sources for trade and investment. All data below are presented in $USD in billions.
Economic Data and Projections for Vietnam (IMF)
The following table presents economic statistics for Vietnam. Projections include assumptions of the effects of COVID-19 and may be subject to change in the future. Estimated data, as well as projections up to 2028, are presented in italics and are subject to revision.
Vietnam was the 37th largest economy in 2022, in terms of gross domestic product (GDP). The UK was the 6th largest economy in 2022.
Top goods traded with the world by Vietnam, in current prices (UN
Comtrade)
Data presented here show the top commodities traded to the world, not solely the UK, by Vietnam. These commodities are presented on a different classification from the earlier data by commodity from the ONS and should not be directly compared.
You access more statistics about individual export and import markets for Vietnam by using the online UN Comtrade tool developed by the Department for Business and Trade.
Top goods exported to the world by Vietnam in 2020:
Top goods imported from the world by Vietnam in 2020:
Top services traded with the world by Vietnam, in current prices (ITC Trade Map)
Data presented here show the top service types traded to the world, not solely the UK, by Vietnam
Top services exported to the world by Vietnam in 2021:
Top services imported from the world by Vietnam in 2021:
Background Notes
This document is one of a wider set of factsheets between the UK and its individual trade and investment partners which can be found on the Trade and Investment Factsheets website. All of these factsheets are published as Official Statistics as defined by the UK Statistics Authority, and are compliant with the Code of Practice for Statistics where they meet user needs as well as promote trustworthiness, quality, and public value in Government statistics. The publication of these factsheets as Official Statistics was agreed upon by the Chief Statistician at the Department for Business and Trade, who monitors these factsheets to ensure they continue to adhere to the Code of Practice for Statistics. These factsheets have not been formally assessed by the Office of Statistics Regulation and are therefore not designated as National Statistics.
As a requisite of publishing as Official Statistics, a quality and methodology report has been produced which outlines the quality of these factsheets, as well as providing more information on the methodology of the data sources presented here. This report contains hyperlinks to information on the strengths and weaknesses of each data source. Statistics contained in the factsheets from UK data providers all come from Official Statistics publications, with some sources also being from National Statistics publications.
Future updates of these factsheets can be found on the Government update schedule for Official Statistics. These scheduled updates are in line with significant updates from UK data providers when they release new data. Unscheduled releases of the factsheets may also be necessary to accommodate data updates where little or no advanced notice is given, such as in the case of international data updates. Please see the data update schedule and revisions policy in the quality and methodology report for more information. Please note that there may be occasions where more recent data than is provided here can be found directly from the data providers.
The Department for Business and Trade welcomes any feedback or comments on these factsheets, please send these to [email protected].
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