01Key Takeaways
- Vietnam imported $325.44 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 9.3% from $358.79 billion in 2022, the steepest decline in this five-year dataset and the most recent year with verified trade data available.
- Electrical machinery and equipment led every import category at 34.6% ($112.72 billion), by far the largest single category on this list.
- China was Vietnam's largest import partner, supplying 34.0% of imports, worth $110.65 billion.
- The top three import partners together accounted for 56.7% of total import value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $253.4B | $261.3B | $330.8B | $358.8B | $325.4B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $110.7B | 34.0% |
| 2 | South Korea | $52.4B | 16.1% |
| 3 | Japan | $21.6B | 6.6% |
| 4 | Other Asia, nes | $18.4B | 5.7% |
| 5 | United States | $13.8B | 4.2% |
| 6 | Thailand | $11.8B | 3.6% |
| 7 | Indonesia | $8.7B | 2.7% |
| 8 | Australia | $8.6B | 2.6% |
| 9 | Malaysia | $7.8B | 2.4% |
| 10 | Areas, nes | $7.0B | 2.1% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $112.7B | 34.6% |
| 2 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $25.7B | 7.9% |
| 3 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $23.3B | 7.2% |
| 4 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $17.5B | 5.4% |
| 5 | Iron and Steel | $12.4B | 3.8% |
| 6 | Optical, Photographic, Cinematographic, Measuring, Checking, Precision, Medical or Surgical Instruments and Apparatus; Parts and Accessories thereof | $7.4B | 2.3% |
| 7 | Commodities not specified according to kind | $7.3B | 2.2% |
| 8 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $5.9B | 1.8% |
| 9 | Cereals | $5.5B | 1.7% |
| 10 | Knitted or Crocheted Fabrics | $5.4B | 1.7% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Import Value Pulled Back Sharply in 2023 After Three Years of Growth
Vietnam imported $325.44 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 9.3% from $358.79 billion in 2022. This is the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset. The dataset covers a full five years, from 2019 through 2023, tracking the import side of trade for this Southeast Asian manufacturing and electronics economy.
Import value stood at $253.44 billion in 2019. It climbed for three consecutive years, reaching $261.31 billion in 2020, $330.75 billion in 2021 and $358.79 billion in 2022, the high point of this five-year window, before falling back to $325.44 billion in 2023.
This dataset does not explain the three-year climb or the sharp pullback that followed. A decline of 9.3% marks the steepest single-year drop across this entire five-year window. That pullback closely tracks the more modest decline recorded on the export side of trade for this same country in 2023. Import value nonetheless remains well above every year in this window before 2021. This is Vietnam's first year-over-year import decline recorded anywhere in this five-year window.
Electronics Dominate an Import List Tied to Assembly-for-Export Manufacturing
Electrical machinery and equipment led every import category in 2023, worth $112.72 billion, or 34.6% of the total, by far the largest single category on this list. Vietnam's electronics manufacturing centers on assembly, with the design and production of sub-components mostly done overseas and imported into the country. That pattern lines up with electrical machinery topping both this import list and the export list for this same country. Mineral fuels ranked second at 7.9%, worth $25.69 billion, and machinery followed at 7.2%, worth $23.30 billion. These first three categories together account for well over four in ten dollars of total import value.
Plastics contributed 5.4%, worth $17.50 billion, and iron and steel added a further 3.8%, worth $12.43 billion. These first five categories together account for well over half of total import value.
Optical and measuring instruments also contributed 2.3%, worth $7.39 billion. A grouping recorded in trade statistics as "commodities not specified according to kind" added 2.2%, worth $7.31 billion. Vehicles contributed 1.8%, worth $5.95 billion. Cereals added 1.7% ($5.51 billion), essentially tied with fabrics, knitted or crocheted, at 1.7% ($5.43 billion), the smallest share among all ten categories on this list. A long tail of textiles and agricultural goods fills out the rest of this list. These ten categories span electronics, energy, metals and textiles, reflecting an economy importing both components for assembly and raw materials for domestic industry.
China and Korea Lead a Highly Concentrated Partner List
China was Vietnam's largest import partner in 2023, taking 34.0% of imports, worth $110.65 billion. South Korea ranked second at 16.1%, worth $52.39 billion. Japan followed at 6.6%, worth $21.61 billion. Together, these top three partners accounted for 56.7% of total import value, a markedly higher concentration than seen on the export side of trade for this country. That gap reflects a partner base led here by two dominant East Asian suppliers rather than a wider spread of destinations.
A grouping recorded in trade statistics as "Other Asia, nes" ranked fourth at 5.7%, worth $18.42 billion. This is a recognized catch-all classification covering shipments not assigned to a single specific Asian economy by the underlying customs data. United States contributed 4.2% ($13.83 billion), and Thailand added a further 3.6% ($11.79 billion overall).
Indonesia contributed a further 2.7% ($8.73 billion). Australia added 2.6%, worth $8.56 billion, and Malaysia also contributed 2.4% ($7.81 billion). A further grouping recorded in trade statistics as "Areas, nes" closed out the top ten at 2.1%, worth $7.00 billion, the smallest share among the ten listed entries here. This list is dominated by East and Southeast Asian suppliers, with China alone supplying over a third of all imports. Ranks four through ten here are packed within roughly four percentage points of each other, a far tighter cluster than the wide gaps separating the top three.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an import profile anchored in electronics components, pulling back sharply after three years of growth. That profile is sourced from a partner base led overwhelmingly by China and South Korea, a markedly more concentrated grouping than the broad, diversified partner base seen on the export side of trade for this country.