📜 A long story
Vietnam, 1800 → today
Vietnam grew from 4 million in 1800 to 100 million; a newborn can expect 26.6 more years of life than in 1950, and output per person is 9.6× its 1820 level, adjusted for inflation.
Told with long-run reconstructions, not the yearly series used elsewhere on the site: each chapter names its source. Scroll to move through the years.
☺ Chapter 1 · Population
How many people live there?
1800
In 1800, about 4 million people lived in Vietnam.
1900
11.8 million people.
3× the 1800 level
Reached twice the 1800 level in 1861.
1950
25.1 million people.
2.1× the 1900 level
Reached 5 times the 1800 level in 1942.
2023
100 million people, the latest year in this series.
4× the 1950 level
Reached 10 times the 1800 level in 1969.
Reached 20 times the 1800 level in 2004.
Long-run series: before 1950, reconstructions by HYDE and Gapminder, filled in between benchmark years by those sources. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
✚ Chapter 2 · Life expectancy
How long do people live?
1950
In 1950, a newborn in Vietnam could expect to live 48 years, on average.
2023
74.6 years, the latest year in this series.
+27 years since 1950
Passed 50 years in 1953.
Passed 60 years in 1975.
Passed 70 years in 1993.
Long-run series: before 1950, historical estimates (Riley, Clio Infra, Human Mortality Database), only for years they cover.
◎ Chapter 3 · GDP per person (PPP)
How much is produced per person?
1820
In 1820, Vietnam produced about Int$840 per person, in 2011 prices.
1950
Int$1,050.
1.3× the 1820 level
2022
Int$8,050, the latest year in this series.
7.7× the 1950 level
Reached twice the 1820 level in 1991.
Reached 5 times the 1820 level in 2008.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 22% between 1964 and 1968 (Int$1,430 → Int$1,110).
Long-run series (Maddison Project) in 2011 international dollars: adjusted for inflation, so not the same unit as today’s PPP figure. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates. Dashed stretches are years without data.
❦ Chapter 4 · CO₂ per person
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
1892
In 1892, fossil fuels and industry in Vietnam emitted about 0.019 t of CO₂ per person.
1950
0.1 t.
3.1× the 1892 level
Reached twice the 1892 level in 1893.
Reached 5 times the 1892 level in 1916.
Reached 10 times the 1892 level in 1925.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 93% between 1939 and 1945 (0.4 t → 0.028 t).
2024
3.7 t, the latest year in this series.
62× the 1950 level
Reached 20 times the 1892 level in 1966.
Reached 50 times the 1892 level in 2003.
Long-run series: fossil CO₂ emitted within each country’s borders (Global Carbon Budget); early estimates are less certain. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.