Quiet Revolution: Education in Vietnam Drives Poverty Reduction
Published with The Borgen Project.
Vietnam transformed from one of Southeast Asia’s most underserved, war-torn nations in the early ’90s into a global model for poverty reduction. This transformation did not happen overnight. The country changed over the years of investment in its future: the children of Vietnam and their education.
Extreme poverty previously covered around 45–52% of the population in the early ’90s. By 2022, it had dramatically decreased to about 1%. This change came not from foreign aid or outside enterprises, but from a sustained, state-led initiative to invest in children in rural areas by expanding education and bolstering electrification, infrastructure and health care.
Education as the Foundation
The strongest pillar in Vietnam’s poverty reduction is the expansion of access to education throughout the country, reaching even the most remote regions of Vietnam. The country pushes for universal primary school enrollment and strong secondary school access, stressing the importance of education as a way to combat future poverty. These expansions raised literacy rates and skyrocketed school completion.
They also gave children who once had no chance for a solid educational foundation the opportunity to move through their lives with purpose. In a case study, one family stated, “I had no school education, but I want my children to go to school as long as I can afford it. They know how to read and write, so they know the direction when they visit big towns… I want my children to finish high school and possibly do vocational training. I believe that with higher education, they will have more opportunities than I do.”
Today, adult literacy in Vietnam stands at about 96%, which is very high compared to many countries in similar income brackets. Among youths ages 15–24, literacy is effectively universal and socially normalized. Vietnamese students also consistently outperform expectations.
In 2012 and 2015, Vietnam placed ahead of many wealthier nations in reading, math and science on international PISA assessments. Their strong results stem from their willingness to learn. Even disadvantaged students from more impoverished socioeconomic backgrounds outperform their peers in many OECD countries at the same levels.
Policies such as the Education Law of 2005 set high minimum standards, professionalized teachers and invested in school infrastructure across the nation. They also influenced cultural attitudes that emphasized the role of education in improving the lives of impoverished citizens and contributing to poverty reduction in Vietnam.
Rural Infrastructure & Basic Services
Alongside education, Vietnam invested heavily in rural infrastructure, especially electrification. In the ’70s, only a small minority of communities had electricity. By 2022, 99.7% of households had electricity, with 99.53% in rural areas. Electrification advanced communities in many ways: enabling evening study, powering lights, fans and computers in schools and allowing health clinics to refrigerate vaccines.
Radio and broadcast media informed citizens on a mass scale and internet access became far more feasible. Public health improvements accompanied education and infrastructure, delivering better water, sanitation, nutrition and maternal care. These initiatives reduced disease burden, increased school attendance and lowered mortality.
Economic Growth & Policy Choices
Education, electricity and public health initiatives expanded access to jobs, markets and institutional decisions. The Đổi Mới reforms of 1986 liberalized parts of the economy, encouraged trade and agricultural reforms. These changes enabled growth in manufacturing, services and exports, while raising productivity in smallholder farming.
The government steadily increased budget shares for education and social services. It also rolled out national targeted programs to reach ethnic minorities and remote, rural areas where poverty and deprivation remained high. These programs built roads, water systems, power lines and clinics and they placed teachers in remote schools.
Why Vietnam’s Model Matters
Vietnam’s poverty reduction model shows that all impoverished countries can duplicate. Vietnam demonstrates how much becomes possible when governments commit to inclusive, long-term investment rather than short-term flashy projects.
Key lessons include:
Equity-first: Focus on reaching all children, not just those in cities or wealthier areas. Rural, minority and disadvantaged students gained the most.
Cross-sector investment: Education, health, infrastructure and electrification amplify each other.
State leadership: The government did not abdicate responsibility; it set standards, built capacity, regulated and followed through.
Cost-effectiveness: Even with a relatively low per capita income, Vietnam achieved high student performance. Scholars have praised the quality of its educational inputs.
Remaining Challenges & Why Poverty Isn’t Solved
While extreme poverty has fallen to about 1% under the World Bank’s international extreme poverty line, many people remain vulnerable. Using broader poverty lines, sizable fractions of the population remain just above the threshold—or worse, in remote ethnic minority areas where services still need improvement.
Improvements in enrollment and infrastructure do not always mirror perfect equity in learning outcomes. Differences persist between majority and minority groups. Internet access and modern learning technology still lag behind basic school access and electric power. Social protections such as cash transfers and shock-responsive systems remain weaker in many rural and ethnic minority communities.
A Model for Change
Vietnam’s success story is not a miracle. Progress resulted from decades of policies that put children first, extending education into rural valleys, electrifying homes and schools and building systems to sustain it all. When governments deliver universal education, rural infrastructure and public health together, poverty retreats quickly and lives change faster than expected.
– Nicole Fernandez
Nicole is based in Reno, NV, USA and focuses on Good News and Technology for The Borgen Project.
