Is Vietnam a poor country?

In 1990, Vietnam was among the world's poorest countries with a GDP per capita of $98. ... Vietnam is now defined as a lower middle income country by the World Bank. Of the total Vietnamese population of 88 million people (2010), 13 million people still live in poverty and many others remain near poor.

Why is Vietnam in poverty?

Failing infrastructure remains one of the large causes of poverty in Vietnam, and many other countries. Although immense efforts were made in the late nineties to bring electricity to its people, Vietnam's infrastructure systems for energy, water, sanitation and telecommunication are far from where they need to be.