Vietnam

Vietnam's poverty levels have declined drastically in the past 20 years as a result of the country's rapid economic growth and improved social protection programs. However, the absolute number of poor people is still large and the incidence of poverty is relatively high in rural areas and among ethnic minorities.

• The population of Vietnam is 85 million
• Sixty one percent of the country's ethnic population lives below the poverty line
• Malnutrition affects 25 percent of children under age 5
• Neonatal deaths account for nearly 75 percent of all infant deaths
• Almost 80 percent of the country's poor people depend on agriculture for their livelihood.

Photo credit CIA Factbook

In the fall 2009 the Asian Development Bank reported that microfinance is dominated by government subsidized programs led by the state-owned Vietnam Bank for Social Policies. However, these programs have struggled to meet the real financial needs of the poor, and offer limited services. At the same time, the growth of informal providers has been constrained by their inability to mobilize significant savings because they lack the capacity to comply with regulations on deposit taking.

Grameen Foundation’s Progress out of Poverty™ Index (PPI™) for Vietnam is now available and can assist the Vietnam microfinance community to better target its programs and measure the progress of their clients.