Vietnam's human capital progress earns global praise but faces key gaps
On April 16, on the sidelines of the WBG-IMF Spring Meetings, the World Bank honoured Vietnam among the top 5 best-performing countries on the Human Capital Index Plus (HCI+) 2026 within its income group, joining Jamaica, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, and Rwanda.
The index measures how effectively a country builds human capital, tracking the likelihood that children today will grow into healthy, educated, and productive adults. Unlike the original HCI, the HCI+ goes further by capturing a country's investments not only in health and education, but also in employment, and how all three factors together shape its human capital outcomes.
Vietnam's HCI+ score is 216 out of a maximum of 325, reflecting its investments in health, education, and employment. A 10-point increase in the index would translate into approximately 10 per cent higher future income. Closing the current gaps in these areas relative to high-performing countries with similar GDP per capita would boost future income by 27 per cent.
Vietnam's HCI+ is higher than the average for the East Asia & Pacific region (215) and higher than the average for lower-middle-income countries (153).
In addition, Vietnam's HCI+ score is lower than Poland's (259). The indicators that account for the largest share of the HCI+ gap between Vietnam and Poland are tertiary completion, Harmonised Learning Outcomes, and expected years of schooling. Raising these indicators to Poland's levels would increase Vietnam's score to 254, boosting future income by approximately 38 per cent.
Regarding gender gap, the HCI+ score for women in Vietnam is 216 compared to 215 for men. The 1-point gap indicates that women's earning potential will be 1 per cent higher than men's due to differences in the human capital acquired by men and women in Vietnam.
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