Saigon's GDP per capita in 2019 was US$6,862.
VnExpress reports that the municipal Party Secretary, Nguyễn Thiện Nhân, has set ambitious goals for Ho Chi Minh City to be come a major economic and financial hub within Asia over the coming decades.
By 2030, he hopes for the city have a GDP per capita of US$12,570, almost double last year's figure, with massive growth to US$40,000 in 2045.
Over the next five years, city officials will strive to turn Saigon into a "smart city," though what exactly that encompasses is unclear. Traffic congestion, for example, remains a major concern, and metro lines expected to relieve pressure on the city's roads have faced repeated delays.
Vietnam's national GDP per capita in 2019 was US$2,740, substantially lower than Saigon's figure. The city is the country's economic hub and grew at an impressive rate of over 9% a year from 2011 to 2015.
In 2017, Deputy Chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee Trần Vĩnh Tuyến shared his optimism that the metropolis would achieve US$9,800 in GDP per capita in 2020, though that figure is unlikely to happen now with the global pandemic in the picture.
GDP per capita is defined as a country's, or city's, economic output divided by its population, giving a better sense of living standards than raw GDP size.
